The Effects of Ocean Acidification on the Metabolic Rate and Swimming Performance of Bonefish (Albula vulpes) Jake Valente, Makayla Barton, Kearney McDonnell, Sean McGurl, Olivia Millspaugh, Mickey Mittermeier, and Rennie Meyers Advisors: Aaron Shultz and Kit Hayward Methods Bonefish were collected with a seine net from Starved Creek in the spring of 2010, in Southern Eleuthera. They were transported back to the Cape Eleuthera Institute wet laboratory, where they were transferred to holding tanks. Bonefish remained in the holding tanks for a minimum of 48 hours before being transferred to their acclimation tanks. Tank pH was adjusted over a 24-hour period to predicted ocean acidification levels in 100 years made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The pH levels in the acclamation tanks were 7.8, 7.6, and 7.4. The bonefish were acclimated for a minimum of 7 days to the following pH treatment: 7.8, 7.6, and 7.4. Fish were not fed 48 hours prior to testing. The volume and weight of each fish was recorded before they were loaded into respirometry chambers, and this process is exemplified in figure 2. AutoResp4 software recorded oxygen consumption overnight during alternating recirculation and flush periods (Figure 3). During the recirculation period, water flows past a dissolved oxygen probe in a closed system. The six lowest oxygen consumption values collected during the recirculation period with r² >0.95 were averaged. Water from the surrounding tank is pumped through the chamber during the flush period in order to refresh the water. The following day, fish were transferred to a saltwater pool, with 3 parallel lines each 37 cm apart, and were exercised by pinching their caudal fins. The number of times a fish crossed a line and time until exhaustion was recorded. Fish were considered exhausted when they did not burst swim after 2 consecutive caudal pinches. Total and fork length of the bonefish was recorded, after which fish were recovered and released. Introduction Global Climate Change can be defined as any change in climate over time. Before the Industrial Revolution, CO2 concentrations were at a value of 280 parts per million (ppm), driving that level up to 385 ppm in 2008. Temperatures are rising at the fastest rate they ever have in the past 1,000 years. Coastal flats are classified as shallow marine environments including tidal creeks, lagoons and mangrove swamps. These environments are vital to the entire marine ecosystem because of their roles as nurseries for juvenile reef fish. Ocean acidity resulting from increased CO2 in the atmosphere may have negative impacts on fish. The average pH of the oceans has dropped by 0.1 and there has been a 30% increase in hydrogen ion concentration. When fish ventilate their gills, these ions diffuse through their gills and into their blood stream, creating and imbalance in their acid-base chemistry. This may increase the stress levels of fish, causing them to consume more oxygen, which in turn makes it difficult for the fish to carry out life processes. A species of fish that may be affected by these three factors is the bonefish. Bonefish also play a key role in local economies of the Bahamian Archipelago. Because of their strength and difficulty to catch, anglers travel to the Bahamas for recreational fishing. The purpose of this study was to test the effects of global climate change caused by anthropogenically produced CO2 on Bonefish. The test will measure both the oxygen consumption and the swimming performance of bonefish when they are exposed to incremental decreases in pH, which are the values predicted by the IPCC for the next 100 years. It was hypothesized that as pH decreased the swimming performance of Bonefish would decrease while their metabolic rate increased. Literature Cited Brierly, Andrew S and Kingsford, Micheal J. 2009. “Impacts of Climate Change on Marine Organisms and Ecosystems.” Current Biology. 19: 602-614. A.J. Danylchuk, S.E. Danylchuk, S.J.