Several flatfish species including southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) recruit to estuaries during early life. Therefore, the evaluation of estuarine sites and habitats that serve as nurseries is critical to conservation and management efforts. I used biochemical condition and growth measurements in conjunction with catch-density data to evaluate settlement sites used by southern flounder in the Galveston Bay Estuary (GBE). In 2005, beam-trawl collections were made in three major sections of the GBE (East Bay, West Bay, Galveston Bay), and three sites were sampled in each bay. Within each sampling site, replicate collections were taken from 1) the marsh edge, 2) an intermediate zone, and 3) the open bay. The average size of southern flounder collected was between 12 and 19 mm standard length, and peak densities occurred in January and February. Catch data indicated that numeric densities of southern flounder were significantly greater in East Bay (2.75 per 100 m2) than in West Bay (0.45 per 100 m2) or in Galveston Bay (0.91 per 100 m2). Habitat-specific variation in density was not found. Otolith-based estimates of age indicated that the majority of southern flounder collected were 35-45 days old and derived from early December to early January hatch-dates. Growth rate differences were negligible across bays and habitats, with the average growth rate being 0.40 mm/day (range 0.21-0.76 mm/day). RNA:DNA ratios indicated that newly settled southern flounder in the GBE were in relatively high condition. Habitat-specific differences in RNA:DNA ratios were not observed; however, ratios were significantly lower in West Bay (average 8.0) than in East Bay (average 9.5) or in Galveston Bay (average 9.8), suggesting the condition of new recruits may vary across the GBE. Findings from this study indicate that southern flounder use a variety of habitats within the GBE during early life, and survival and recruitment success appear favorable regardless of settlement site. As a result, recruitment success of southern flounder may be less a function of the quality of nursery sites/habitats within the GBE than of other factors (e.g., larval supply to the estuary).

One of the most common infections of a human organism is an infection of stomach induced by pathogenic bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). It is estimated that every second person is infected, with even higher prevalence in developing countries. As a quiet enemy, H. pylori can colonise a human stomach for decades without manifestation of infection-associated symptoms. However, chronic infection may cause severe damage to the stomach tissue, subsequently leading to the development of gastric diseases, including gastritis and ulcer disease. H. pylori infection is also a driving cause of gastric cancer, with 80% of gastric cancers being associated with chronic infection. H. pylori ensures its life-long persistence in a human host organism via the action of its virulence factors, which have a pleiotropic effect on multiple systems, mostly acting on the attenuation of a human immune system and the induction of atrophy of stomach tissue. The irreversible changes of stomach epithelium are induced by activation of an innate immune response in H. pylori-exposed epithelial cells through the stimulation of ALPK1/TIFA/NF-κB signalling pathway upon a recognition of β-ADP heptose, an intermediate product of bacterial lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, and consequently leading to the formation of DNA...

The condition of juvenile fish relates to their overall health and is a strong predictor of survival and eventual recruitment. Condition can be quantified and interpreted in a variety of ways covering different time scales and levels of biological organization. Here I (i) quantify interannual variability in the condition in Young-of-Year (YOY) Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) in the Strait of Georgia, BC, from 2013-2016, and (ii) examine the extent to which the condition of an individual fish varies depending on which condition metric is used. Chapter 1 provides a general background on the concept of measuring condition in fish, as well as the basic biology of Pacific herring and their importance in Strait of Georgia ecosystem. In Chapter 2, I report the condition of YOY herring from 2013-2016 using six metrics: (i) Fulton’s K, (ii) the residuals from a length:weight regression, (iii) the RNA:DNA ratio, (iv) recent growth estimated via otolith microstructure analysis, (v) lipid content, and (vi) the ratio of two essential acids DHA:EPA. Four of these metrics (Fulton’s K, length:weight residuals, and growth from RNA:DNA and otolith increments) indicate a decrease in condition over the four years. In contrast, lipid content suggests an increase across the four years, while DHA:EPA suggests a decrease in 2015 but no change over the other three years. The observed interannual variability in condition can be partly linked to unfavourable changes in temperature and zooplankton community composition in 2015 and 2016, and to the propensity of juvenile fish to prioritize energy storage over somatic growth before a period of prey scarcity, such as their first winter. This dataset is further examined in Chapter 3, wherein I examine variability in condition of individual fish based on the different metrics used. Individual herring are ranked based on their scores from the six different metrics of condition, and the distribution of these rankings are examined to assess the degree of intercorrelation among the metrics. Based on this model, as well as pairwise Spearman rank correlations between the six metrics, I conclude that there is little intercorrelation between metrics, and that a fish that scores highly in terms of condition in any one metric will not necessarily score highly for the other metrics. These findings underscore the importance of choosing condition metrics carefully, based on the nature of the question being asked. / Graduate / 2019-07-04

Lake Baikal (Siberia, Russia) is the oldest, the deepest and the most voluminous lake on Earth. During the last century, Baikal has experienced gradual increases in temperature but remains highly oligotrophic with increases in primary productivity limited to the warmest parts of the lake. Using whole body RNA:DNA ratio as an indicator of metabolic rate, we demonstrate that the key primary consumer in Baikal's plankton, Epischura baikalensis (Copepoda: Calanoida), is a capital breeder that relies on lipid storage to maintain productivity. In individuals from nature, the RNA:DNA ratio correlated with lipid content in samples from cold, low phytoplankton density locations from Baikal's North and Central basins, but not in samples from warmer South basin and Maloe More strait. Lipid reserves, both visually assessed and measured by Nile Red fluorescence, correlated positively with phytoplankton density. In laboratory experiments the RNA:DNA ratio responded to starvation and temperature in non-reproducing, low lipid storage females, but not in individuals with developed ovaries or high lipid storage. This indicates that, unlike many other zooplankton crustaceans, E. baikalensis uses resource storage to support current reproduction, which buffers the dependency of metabolic rate on current feeding conditions. We discuss possible effects of such buffering on E. baikalensis competition with non-endemic, largely income-feeding zooplankton species whose frequency is currently increasing in Baikal pelagia.