Preliminary Report Effects of projected upwelling conditions on metabolic poise of larval gopher rockfish, Sebastes carnatus Madison Heard and Cheryl Logan California State University, Monterey Bay 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA 93955 ABSTRACT Global climate change is expected to intensify hypoxic conditions during coastal upwelling events along the west coast of North America, but the potential effects on nearshore fishes are not well understood. Viviparous rockfishes (genus Sebastes) that gestate and give birth during the upwelling season, such as gopher rockfish ( S. carnatus), may be among the most affected. We tested the transgenerational effects of future hypoxic conditions on the metabolic status of gopher rockfish larvae. Four pregnant females were held during gestation in either ambient conditions (DO~8 mg/L) or a hypoxic treatment (DO~4 mg/L). A subset of larvae was sampled immediately post-parturition and remaining larvae were then split into two groups and placed in either control or hypoxic conditions for five days and sampled again. Citrate synthase (CS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), proxies for aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, respectively, were assayed in pooled larval samples from all treatments. We expected that larvae would exhibit relatively greater reliance on aerobic metabolism (e.g., higher CS/LDH ratios) if exposure to hypoxia during pregnancy enhances larval performance to hypoxia post-parturition, compared with larvae from control mothers. We also expected that larvae from control mothers would exhibit relatively greater reliance on anaerobic metabolism if exposed to hypoxic post-parturition. Lastly, we hypothesized that larvae from hypoxic mothers would rely more on anaerobic metabolism immediately post-parturition. At birth, we found larvae from hypoxic mothers were more anaerobic compared to those from control mothers, but after five days we found trends that larvae from hypoxic mothers that continued developing in hypoxic conditions were more aerobic compared to those from control mothers. Our findings suggest the potential for larval gopher rockfish to exhibit a more aerobic phenotype when gestated during hypoxic conditions and placed in similar conditions post-parturition. Keywords: Climate change, hypoxia, upwelling, aerobic metabolism, anaerobic metabolism, citrate synthase, lactate dehydrogenase INTRODUCTION Increased carbon emissions from anthropogenic activities have influenced the Earth’s climate system to a point of irreversible and long-lasting impacts (Keeling, 1960; IPCC, 2014; Halpern et al., 2008). One area expected to experience shifts is the highly productive California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) that spans from British Columbia to Baja California, fueled by seasonal upwelling events of cold, nutrient-rich water. The tremendous productivity supports a robust food web and many fishery species, such as sardines and anchovies, that serve as prey for larger megafauna (NOAA, 2012). Along with cold and nutrient-rich characteristics, upwelled water is also higher in pCO2 (lower in pH) and lower in dissolved oxygen (DO) (Booth