Publications by year
2021
Coram A, Abreo NAS, Ellis RP, Thompson KF (2021). Contribution of social media to cetacean research in Southeast Asia: illuminating populations vulnerable to litter.
Biodiversity and Conservation,
30(8-9), 2341-2359.
Abstract:
Contribution of social media to cetacean research in Southeast Asia: illuminating populations vulnerable to litter
AbstractLitter in the marine environment, in particular plastic, is a significant threat to marine megafauna. Cetaceans are known to ingest or become entangled in marine debris, likely impacting individuals and populations. Southeast Asia is a biodiversity hotspot and harbours a diverse cetacean assemblage. However, there are key knowledge gaps relating to the impact of litter in this region due the lack of experts to survey its vast coastlines. This study aims to address such gaps by using social media, gathering data from Facebook posts relating to cetacean strandings and litter across Southeast Asia between 2009 and 2019. Results show that at least 15 cetacean species have been negatively affected by litter, with ingestion most commonly affecting deep-diving species. Epipelagic and mesopelagic foragers were most vulnerable to entanglement. Davao in the Philippines was identified as a litter-related stranding hotspot. The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) and pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) are particularly vulnerable to litter. The combination of social media and peer reviewed literature can help build a more complete picture of the spatial distribution of marine litter and the scale of the impact it has on cetacean populations. In this study we provide details of a valuable online tool for helping to understand the impact of marine litter on cetaceans and other charismatic species that are a focus of community engagement.
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Millard RS, Ellis RP, Bateman KS, Bickley LK, Tyler CR, van Aerle R, Santos EM (2021). How do abiotic environmental conditions influence shrimp susceptibility to disease? a critical analysis focussed on White Spot Disease.
J Invertebr Pathol,
186Abstract:
How do abiotic environmental conditions influence shrimp susceptibility to disease? a critical analysis focussed on White Spot Disease.
White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) causes White Spot Disease (WSD) and is historically the most devastating disease in the shrimp industry. Global losses from this disease have previously exceeded $3 bn annually, having a major impact on a global industry worth US$19 bn per annum. Shrimp are cultured predominantly in enclosed ponds that are subject to considerable fluctuations in abiotic conditions and WSD outbreaks are increasingly linked to periods of extreme weather, which may cause major fluctuations in pond culture conditions. Combined with the intensity of production in these systems, the resulting suboptimal physicochemical conditions have a major bearing on the susceptibility of shrimp to infection and disease. Current knowledge indicates that pond temperature and salinity are major factors determining outbreak severity. WSSV appears to be most virulent in water temperatures between 25 and 28 °C and salinities far removed from the isoosmotic point of shrimp. Elevated temperatures (>30 °C) may protect against WSD, depending on the stage of infection, however the mechanisms mediating this effect have not been well established. Other factors relating to water quality that may play key roles in determining outbreak severity include dissolved oxygen concentration, nitrogenous compound concentration, partial pressure of carbon dioxide and pH, but data on their impacts on WSSV susceptibility in cultured shrimps is scarce. This illustrates a major research gap in our understanding of the influence of environmental conditions on disease. For example, it is not clear whether temperature manipulations can be used effectively to prevent or mitigate WSD in cultured shrimp. Therefore, developing our understanding of the impact of environmental conditions on shrimp susceptibility to WSSV may provide insight for WSD mitigation when, even after decades of research, there is no effective practical prophylaxis or treatment.
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Nascimento-Schulze JC, Bean TP, Houston RD, Santos EM, Sanders MB, Lewis C, Ellis RP (2021). Optimizing hatchery practices for genetic improvement of marine bivalves.
Reviews in Aquaculture,
13(4), 2289-2304.
Abstract:
Optimizing hatchery practices for genetic improvement of marine bivalves
Aquaculture currently accounts for approximately half of all seafood produced and is the fastest growing farmed food sector globally. Marine bivalve aquaculture, the farming of oysters, mussels and clams, represents a highly sustainable component of this industry and has major potential for global expansion via increased efficiency, and numbers of, production systems. Artificial spat propagation (i.e. settled juveniles) in hatcheries and selective breeding have the potential to offer rapid and widespread gains for molluscan aquaculture industry. However, bivalves have unique life-histories, genetic and genomic characteristics, which present significant challenges to achieving such genetic improvement. Selection pressures experienced by bivalve larvae and spat in the wild contribute to drive population structure and animal fitness. Similarly, domestication selection is likely to act on hatchery-produced spat, the full implications of which have not been fully explored. In this review, we outline the key features of these taxa and production practices applied in bivalve aquaculture, which have the potential to affect the genetic and phenotypic variability of hatchery-propagated stock. Alongside, we compare artificial and natural processes experienced by bivalves to investigate the possible consequences of hatchery propagation on stock production. In addition, we identify key areas of investigation that need to be prioritized to continue to the advancement of bivalve genetic improvement via selective breeding. The growing accessibility of next-generation sequencing technology and high-powered computational capabilities facilitate the implementation of novel genomic tools in breeding programmes of aquatic species. These emerging techniques represent an exciting opportunity for sustainably expanding the bivalve aquaculture sector.
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2019
Mourabit S, Fitzgerald JA, Ellis RP, Takesono A, Porteus CS, Trznadel M, Metz J, Winter MJ, Kudoh T, Tyler CR, et al (2019). New insights into organ-specific oxidative stress mechanisms using a novel biosensor zebrafish.
Environment International,
133Abstract:
New insights into organ-specific oxidative stress mechanisms using a novel biosensor zebrafish
Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) arise as a result from, and are essential in, numerous cellular processes. ROS, however, are highly reactive and if left unneutralised by endogenous antioxidant systems, can result in extensive cellular damage and/or pathogenesis. In addition, exposure to a wide range of environmental stressors can also result in surplus ROS production leading to oxidative stress (OS) and downstream tissue toxicity. Objectives: Our aim was to produce a stable transgenic zebrafish line, unrestricted by tissue-specific gene regulation, which was capable of providing a whole organismal, real-time read-out of tissue-specific OS following exposure to a wide range of OS-inducing environmental contaminants and conditions. This model could, therefore, serve as a sensitive and specific mechanistic in vivo biomarker for all environmental conditions that result in OS. Methods: to achieve this aim, we exploited the pivotal role of the electrophile response element (EpRE) as a globally-acting master regulator of the cellular response to OS. To test tissue specificity and quantitative capacity, we selected a range of chemical contaminants known to induce OS in specific organs or tissues, and assessed dose-responsiveness in each using microscopic measures of mCherry fluorescence intensity. Results: We produced the first stable transgenic zebrafish line Tg (3EpRE:hsp70:mCherry) with high sensitivity for the detection of cellular RedOx imbalances, in vivo in near-real time. We applied this new model to quantify OS after exposure to a range of environmental conditions with high resolution and provided quantification both of compound- and tissue-specific ROS-induced toxicity. Discussion: Our model has an extremely diverse range of potential applications not only for biomonitoring of toxicants in aqueous environments, but also in biomedicine for identifying ROS-mediated mechanisms involved in the progression of a number of important human diseases, including cancer.
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Tannenbaum C, Ellis RP, Eyssel F, Zou J, Schiebinger L (2019). Sex and gender analysis improves science and engineering. Nature, 575(7781), 137-146.
2017
Ellis RP, Davison W, Queirós AM, Kroeker KJ, Calosi P, Dupont S, Spicer JI, Wilson RW, Widdicombe S, Urbina MA, et al (2017). Does sex really matter? Explaining intraspecies variation in ocean acidification responses.
Biology Letters,
13(2).
Abstract:
Does sex really matter? Explaining intraspecies variation in ocean acidification responses
Ocean acidification (OA) poses a major threat to marine ecosystems globally, having significant ecological and economic importance. The number and complexity of experiments examining the effects of OA has substantially increased over the past decade, in an attempt to address multi-stressor interactions and long-term responses in an increasing range of aquatic organisms. However, differences in the response of males and females to elevated pCO 2 have been investigated in fewer than 4% of studies to date, often being precluded by the difficulty of determining sex non-destructively, particularly in early life stages. Herewe highlight that sex can significantly impact organismresponses to OA, differentially affecting physiology, reproduction, biochemistry and ultimately survival. What is more, these impacts do not always conform to ecological theory based on differential resource allocation towards reproduction, which would predict females to be more sensitive to OA owing to the higher production cost of eggs compared with sperm. Therefore, non-sex-specific studies may overlook subtle but ecologically significant differences in the responses of males and females to OA, with consequences for forecasting the fate of natural populations in a near-future ocean.
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Campbell AL, Ellis RP, Urbina MA, Mourabit S, Galloway TS, Lewis C (2017). Impacts of ocean acidification on sperm develop with exposure time for a polychaete with long lived sperm.
Mar Environ Res,
129, 268-276.
Abstract:
Impacts of ocean acidification on sperm develop with exposure time for a polychaete with long lived sperm.
The majority of marine invertebrate species release eggs and sperm into seawater for external fertilisation. Seawater conditions are currently changing at an unprecedented rate as a consequence of ocean acidification (OA). Sperm are thought to be particularly vulnerable to these changes and may be exposed to external environmental conditions for variable periods of time between spawning and fertilisation. Here, we undertook a mechanistic investigation of sperm swimming performance in the coastal polychaete Arenicola marina during an extended exposure to OA conditions (pHNBS 7.77, 1000 μatm pCO2). We found that key fitness-related aspects of sperm functioning declined faster under OA conditions i.e. impacts became apparent with exposure time. Sperm swimming speed (VCL), the number of motile sperm and sperm path linearity all dropped significantly after 4 h under OA conditions whilst remaining constant under ambient conditions at this time point. Our results highlight the importance of sperm exposure duration in ocean acidification experiments and may help towards explaining species specific differences in response.
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Ellis RP, Urbina MA, Wilson RW (2017). Lessons from two high CO2 worlds – future oceans and intensive aquaculture.
Global Change Biology,
23(6), 2141-2148.
Abstract:
Lessons from two high CO2 worlds – future oceans and intensive aquaculture
© 2016 the Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley. &. Sons Ltd. Exponentially rising CO 2. (currently ~400 μatm) is driving climate change and causing acidification of both marine and freshwater environments. Physiologists have long known that CO 2. directly affects acid–base and ion regulation, respiratory function and aerobic performance in aquatic animals. More recently, many studies have demonstrated that elevated CO 2. projected for end of this century (e.g. 800–1000 μatm) can also impact physiology, and have substantial effects on behaviours linked to sensory stimuli (smell, hearing and vision) both having negative implications for fitness and survival. In contrast, the aquaculture industry was farming aquatic animals at CO 2. levels that far exceed end-of-century climate change projections (sometimes. > 10 000 μatm) long before the term ‘ocean acidification’ was coined, with limited detrimental effects reported. It is therefore vital to understand the reasons behind this apparent discrepancy. Potential explanations include 1) the use of ‘control’ CO 2. levels in aquaculture studies that go beyond 2100 projections in an ocean acidification context; 2) the relatively benign environment in aquaculture (abundant food, disease protection, absence of predators) compared to the wild; 3) aquaculture species having been chosen due to their natural tolerance to the intensive conditions, including CO 2. levels; or 4) the breeding of species within intensive aquaculture having further selected traits that confer tolerance to elevated CO 2. We highlight this issue and outline the insights that climate change and aquaculture science can offer for both marine and freshwater settings. Integrating these two fields will stimulate discussion on the direction of future cross-disciplinary research. In doing so, this article aimed to optimize future research efforts and elucidate effective mitigation strategies for managing the negative impacts of elevated CO 2. on future aquatic ecosystems and the sustainability of fish and shellfish aquaculture.
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2016
Lewis C, Ellis RP, Vernon E, Elliot K, Newbatt S, Wilson RW (2016). Ocean acidification increases copper toxicity differentially in two key marine invertebrates with distinct acid-base responses.
Sci Rep,
6Abstract:
Ocean acidification increases copper toxicity differentially in two key marine invertebrates with distinct acid-base responses.
Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to indirectly impact biota living in contaminated coastal environments by altering the bioavailability and potentially toxicity of many pH-sensitive metals. Here, we show that OA (pH 7.71; pCO2 1480 μatm) significantly increases the toxicity responses to a global coastal contaminant (copper ~0.1 μM) in two keystone benthic species; mussels (Mytilus edulis) and purple sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus). Mussels showed an extracellular acidosis in response to OA and copper individually which was enhanced during combined exposure. In contrast, urchins maintained extracellular fluid pH under OA by accumulating bicarbonate but exhibited a slight alkalosis in response to copper either alone or with OA. Importantly, copper-induced damage to DNA and lipids was significantly greater under OA compared to control conditions (pH 8.14; pCO2 470 μatm) for both species. However, this increase in DNA-damage was four times lower in urchins than mussels, suggesting that internal acid-base regulation in urchins may substantially moderate the magnitude of this OA-induced copper toxicity effect. Thus, changes in metal toxicity under OA may not purely be driven by metal speciation in seawater and may be far more diverse than either single-stressor or single-species studies indicate. This has important implications for future environmental management strategies.
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2015
Ellis RP, Widdicombe S, Parry H, Hutchinson TH, Spicer JI (2015). Pathogenic challenge reveals immune trade-off in mussels exposed to reduced seawater pH and increased temperature. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 462, 83-89.
2014
Ellis RP, Spicer JI, Byrne JJ, Sommer U, Vian MR, White DA, Widdicombe S (2014). <SUP>1</SUP>H NMR Metabolomics Reveals Contrasting Response by Male and Female Mussels Exposed to Reduced Seawater pH, Increased Temperature, and a Pathogen.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY,
48(12), 7044-7052.
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Pope EC, Ellis RP, Scolamacchia M, Scolding JWS, Keay A, Chingombe P, Shields RJ, Wilcox R, Speirs DC, Wilson RW, et al (2014). European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, in a changing ocean.
Biogeosciences,
11(9), 2519-2530.
Abstract:
European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, in a changing ocean
Ocean acidification, caused by rising concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), is widely considered to be a major global threat to marine ecosystems. To investigate the potential effects of ocean acidification on the early life stages of a commercially important fish species, European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), 12 000 larvae were incubated from hatch through metamorphosis under a matrix of two temperatures (17 and 19 °C) and two seawater pCO2 levels (ambient and 1,000 μatm) and sampled regularly for 42 days. Calculated daily mortality was significantly affected by both temperature and pCO2, with both increased temperature and elevated pCO2 associated with lower daily mortality and a significant interaction between these two factors. There was no significant pCO2 effect noted on larval morphology during this period but larvae raised at 19 °C possessed significantly larger eyes and lower carbon:nitrogen ratios at the end of the study compared to those raised under 17 °C. Similarly, when the incubation was continued to post-metamorphic (juvenile) animals (day 67-69), fish raised under a combination of 19 °C and 1000 μatm pCO2 were significantly heavier. However, juvenile D. labrax raised under this combination of 19 °C and 1000 μatm pCO2 also exhibited lower aerobic scopes than those incubated at 19 °C and ambient pCO2. Most studies investigating the effects of near-future oceanic conditions on the early life stages of marine fish have used incubations of relatively short durations and suggested that these animals are resilient to ocean acidification. Whilst the increased survival and growth observed in this study supports this view, we conclude that more work is required to investigate whether the differences in juvenile physiology observed in this study manifest as negative impacts in adult fish. copyright © Author(s) 2014.
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Asplund ME, Baden SP, Russ S, Ellis RP, Gong N, Hernroth BE (2014). Ocean acidification and host-pathogen interactions: Blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, encountering Vibrio tubiashii.
Environmental Microbiology,
16(4), 1029-1039.
Abstract:
Ocean acidification and host-pathogen interactions: Blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, encountering Vibrio tubiashii
Summary: Ocean acidification (OA) can shift the ecological balance between interacting organisms. In this study, we have used a model system to illustrate the interaction between a calcifying host organism, the blue mussel Mytilus edulis and a common bivalve bacterial pathogen, Vibrio tubiashii, with organisms being exposed to a level of acidification projected to occur by the end of the 21st century. OA exposures of the mussels were carried out in relative long-term (4 months) and short-term (4 days) experiments. We found no effect of OA on the culturability of V.tubiashii, in broth or in seawater. OA inhibited mussel shell growth and impaired crystalline shell structures but did not appear to affect mussel immune parameters (i.e haemocyte counts and phagocytotic capacity). Despite no evident impact on host immunity or growth and virulence of the pathogen, V.tubiashii was clearly more successful in infecting mussels exposed to long-term OA compared to those maintained under ambient conditions. Moreover, OA exposed V.tubiashii increased their viability when exposed to haemocytes of OA-treated mussel. Our findings suggest that even though host organisms may have the capacity to cope with periods of OA, these conditions may alter the outcome of host-pathogen interactions, favouring the success of the latter. © 2013 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Campbell AL, Mangan S, Ellis RP, Lewis C (2014). Ocean acidification increases copper toxicity to the early life history stages of the polychaete Arenicola marina in artificial seawater.
Environ Sci Technol,
48(16), 9745-9753.
Abstract:
Ocean acidification increases copper toxicity to the early life history stages of the polychaete Arenicola marina in artificial seawater.
The speciation and therefore bioavailability of the common pollutant copper is predicted to increase within the pH range anticipated under near-future ocean acidification (OA), hence the potential exists for copper toxicity to marine organisms to also increase. We investigated the impact of OA (seawater pH values of 7.77 (pCO2 1400 μatm) and 7.47 (pCO2 3000 μatm)) upon copper toxicity responses in early life history stages of the polychaete Arenicola marina and found both synergistic and additive toxicity effects of combined exposures depending on life history stage. The toxicity of copper on sperm DNA damage and early larval survivorship was synergistically increased under OA conditions. Larval survival was reduced by 24% when exposed to both OA and copper combined compared to single OA or copper exposures. Sperm motility was negatively affected by both OA and copper singularly with additive toxicity effects of the two stressors when combined. Fertilization success was also negatively affected by both OA and copper individually, but no additive effects when exposed as combined stressors were present for this stage. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that OA will act to increase the toxicity of copper to marine organisms, which has clear implications for coastal benthic ecosystems suffering chronic metal pollution as pCO2 levels rise and drive a reduction in seawater pH.
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2013
Pope EC, Ellis RP, Scolamacchia M, Scolding JWS, Keay A, Chingombe P, Shields RJ, Wilcox R, Speirs DC, Wilson RW, et al (2013). Is the perceived resiliency of fish larvae to ocean acidification masking more subtle effects?.
Abstract:
Is the perceived resiliency of fish larvae to ocean acidification masking more subtle effects?
Abstract. Ocean acidification, caused by rising concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), is widely considered to be a major global threat to marine ecosystems. To investigate the potential effects of ocean acidification on the early life stages of a commercially important fish species, European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), 12 000 larvae were incubated from hatch through metamorphosis under a matrix of two temperatures (17 and 19 °C) and two seawater pCO2s (400 and 750 μatm) and sampled regularly for 42 days. Calculated daily mortality was significantly affected by both temperature and pCO2, with both increased temperature and elevated pCO2 associated with lower daily mortality and a significant interaction between these two factors. There was no significant pCO2 effect noted on larval morphology during this period but larvae raised at 19 °C possessed significantly larger eyes and lower carbon:nitrogen ratios at the end of the study compared to those raised under 17 °C. These results suggest that D. labrax larvae are resilient to near-future oceanic conditions. However, when the incubation was continued to post-metamorphic (juvenile) animals (day 67–69), fish raised under a combination of 19 °C and 750 μatm pCO2 were significantly heavier and exhibited lower aerobic scopes than those incubated at 19 °C and 400 μatm. Most other studies investigating the effects of near-future oceanic conditions on the early life stages of marine fish have used incubations of relatively short durations and suggested these animals are resilient to ocean acidification. We propose the durations of these other studies may be insufficient for more subtle effects, such as those observed in this study, to become apparent. These findings may have important implications for both sea bass in a changing ocean and also for the interpretation of results from other studies that have shown resiliency in marine teleosts exposed to higher atmospheric concentrations of CO2.
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2012
Callaway R, Shinn AP, Grenfell SE, Bron JE, Burnell G, Cook EJ, Crumlish M, Culloty S, Davidson K, Ellis RP, et al (2012). Review of climate change impacts on marine aquaculture in the UK and Ireland.
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems,
22(3), 389-421.
Abstract:
Review of climate change impacts on marine aquaculture in the UK and Ireland
ABSTRACT
Marine aquaculture relies on coastal habitats that will be affected by climate change. This review assesses current knowledge of the threats and opportunities of climate change for aquaculture in the UK and Ireland, focusing on the most commonly farmed species, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).
There is sparse evidence to indicate that climate change is affecting aquaculture in the UK and Ireland. Impacts to date have been difficult to discern from natural environmental variability, and the pace of technological development in aquaculture overshadows effects of climatic change. However, this review of broader aquaculture literature and the likely effects of climate change suggests that over the next century, climate change has the potential to directly impact the industry.
Impacts are related to the industry's dependence on the marine environment for suitable biophysical conditions. For instance, changes in the frequency and strength of storms pose a risk to infrastructure, such as salmon cages. Sea‐level rise will shift shoreline morphology, reducing the areal extent of some habitats that are suitable for the industry. Changes in rainfall patterns will increase the turbidity and nutrient loading of rivers, potentially triggering harmful algal blooms and negatively affecting bivalve farming. In addition, ocean acidification may disrupt the early developmental stages of shellfish.
Some of the most damaging but least predictable effects of climate change relate to the emergence, translocation and virulence of diseases, parasites and pathogens, although parasites and diseases in finfish aquaculture may be controlled through intervention. The spread of nuisance and non‐native species is also potentially damaging.
Rising temperatures may create the opportunity to rear warmer water species in the UK and Ireland. Market forces, rather than technical feasibility, are likely to determine whether existing farmed species are displaced by new ones. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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2011
Ellis RP, Parry H, Spicer JI, Hutchinson TH, Pipe RK, Widdicombe S (2011). Immunological function in marine invertebrates: Responses to environmental perturbation. Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 30(6), 1209-1222.
2009
Ellis RP, Bersey J, Rundle SD, Hall-Spencer JM, Spicer JI (2009). Subtle but significant effects of CO2 acidified seawater on embryos of the intertidal snail, Littorina obtusata. Aquatic Biology, 5, 41-48.
