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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#3C4043">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution<br>
Biology Department Seminar<br>
Thursday, August 17, 2023 – 12:00 Noon <br>
<br>
<b>Zachary Tobias</b><br>
WHOI-MIT Joint Program Student<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#3C4043">Geography and Developmental Plasticity Shape Post-Larval Thermal Tolerance in the Golden Star Tunicate, <i>Botryllus schlosseri</i></span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#3C4043"><br>
Understanding how species cope with heat stress is critical to informing predictions of species persistence in a warming ocean and for designing interventions to promote thermal tolerance. Populations can vary in their thermal tolerance, chiefly shaped by genetics
through local adaptation and the environment through phenotypic plasticity. Nonetheless, how local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity shape thermal tolerance in natural populations of marine organisms remains poorly understood. The invasive colonial tunicate<i> Botryllus
schlosseri</i> has successfully colonized temperate coastlines around the globe, spanning a wide latitudinal gradient across which it experiences myriad temperature regimes. I am interested in understanding how <i>B. schlosseri</i> is able to thrive under
such conditions and how local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity have shaped its thermal breadth. I will present the results of median temperature of 50% survival (LT50) experiments conducted in the summer of 2022 that demonstrate population-level variability
of thermal tolerance in <i>B. schlosseri</i> post-larvae, suggesting the potential of local adaptation. Thermal tolerance within populations also varies across time, coincident with shifts in environmental temperature, indicating the presence of developmental
plasticity. Lastly, the degree of developmental plasticity varied among populations, with those that experience more short-term temperature variability exhibiting greater levels of plasticity, consistent with local adaptation of phenotypic plasticity. By examining
the response to heat stress across space and through time, I investigate the potential contributions of local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity to shaping thermal tolerance in a consequential marine invasive species, offering clues into the mechanisms underlying
variation of thermal biology in the ocean more broadly.<br>
<br>
HYBRID! <b> In person</b>: Redfield Auditorium <b>Zoom</b>: <a href="https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/j/91241396195"><span style="color:blue">https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/j/91241396195</span></a> Meeting ID: 912 4139 6195 <b>By phone</b>: Find your local number: <a href="https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/u/aEfrN0fwI"><span style="color:blue">https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/u/aEfrN0fwI</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">For any questions, contact:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#4472C4">Ana María Vélez</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:black">Administrative Associate<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Avenir Book";color:black"><img border="0" width="304" height="20" style="width:3.1666in;height:.2083in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D9CE89.C76C1150" alt="signature_1005462319"></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:black">O: 508.289.2334<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:black">She/her</span></i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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