Hi, my name is Emily Ignatoff. I am a 2023 Hollings Scholar who spent my summer at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. This summer I got a lesson in resilience from the larvae of a fish called tautog (also known as blackfish), a species of wrasse. This recreationally popular, yet understudied species reminded me that science isn’t always easy, and that unexpected roadblocks may crop up at any time (a reality that isn’t shown in publications). Despite not having clear cut results and a linear narrative of my research, I think the story of both the tautog and the lessons they taught me is important to tell.
Hollings scholar Emily Ignatoff studied the effect of temperature on larval tautog during her 2024 Hollings internship with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Here, she fertilizes tautog eggs to prepare them for an experiment at the James J. Howard Marine Science Lab. (Image credit: Indyah Lumpkin)
As I write this, I am in the midst of my fourth variation of an experiment on how temperature impacts tautog. I planned to raise larvae under three temperature treatments (18, 20, and 22°C) and observe a variety of responses to these conditions over time. I would measure the metabolic rate of the fish and measure their body length using a microscope. By completing weekly measurements, I would be able to see how temperature affects growth and metabolic rates throughout early development.
However, larval fish are incredibly fragile and sensitive to stressful conditions. As such, it took much troubleshooting to determine the best way to introduce our tautog larvae into the intended temperature treatments without them dying.
In the meantime, I analyzed data collected by the team in 2023 observing tautog exposed to a wider temperature range (16-26°C). The results were as expected given the patterns typically seen in thermal response research. Fish exposed to higher temperatures grew to be larger on average, but also faced increased metabolic demands. The fish exposed to higher temperatures also had significantly higher death rates, indicating that there is a detrimental effect of temperature on these larvae despite increased growth metrics.
In the face of our changing climate, larval fish will need to adapt to overcome the challenge of rising temperatures. Similarly, we as scientists need to be flexible and resilient to the challenges thrown our way doing research. My research this summer may have gone in a direction that I could never have predicted, yet it helped me grow as a scientist all the same. Not only was I reminded to be adaptable each day, I was able to grow a suite of laboratory skills I can take with me to future research positions. Sometimes our biggest lessons can come from the smallest of places, in my case from a larval fish called tautog.
Emily Ignatoff, 2023 Hollings scholar
Emily is a class of 2023 Hollings scholar and a Marine Biology major at the University of California, San Diego.
