Award: OCE-2203204

Across the globe it has become increasingly clear that climate change is influencing animal movement patterns. The daily vertical migration of marine animals such as squid is often called the largest migration on Earth. Yet surface waters and thus animal environments are changing. Understanding the impacts of climate change on diel vertical migration is essential for an understanding of how ocean ecosystems will fare with increasing temperatures. This work sought leverage prior data and a rapid, warming event to address: How does a vital migratory community and its keystone predatory taxa respond to unusually warm, physiologically stressful, ocean conditions at a critical life-stage? To address this urgent warming situation, we leveraged methods, a biome, and collaborations which we developed and studied over recent years, including from NSF-OTIC support, local collaborators, and a novel animal biologging tag (termed the ITag - invertebrate tag) that we developed specifically for soft-bodied invertebrates such as squid. This is a high-resolution movement tag, e.g., a fitbit for squid. As a part of this effort we: - Developed and deployed several novel versions of the ITag. This allowed us to examine a range of squid sizes and species within multiple experimental contexts. - Developed a portable, custom-built flume for field experiments enabling the testing of relatively large (up to 3 ft length) ocean animals. It could measure current (flow rate) in 3D, as well as oxygen consumption. The flume is replicable and cost-effective for broader use. We tested, calibrated and operated this flume as a part of this work. - Tested a new type of tag attachment using a hydrogel, using with our tags and target taxa (large squid in the Azores, and small, market squid in Woods Hole, MA. We also tested this attachment method with species as diverse as flounder, lobster, kelp and black sea bass. The hydrogel allows for tag attachment to occur in seconds rather than minutes, greatly expanding biologging and ocean sensory applications with less impact on the tagged animals. From our tests with the ITag on a squid species local in Massachusetts, Doryteuthis pealeii, we were able to create behavioral algorithms in controlled settings that can be applied broadly in the field. For example, we demonstrated that we could use the ITag magnetometer to monitor precise fin movements and positions. We were able to create detectors to automatically calculate finning rates, which are novel data. From this study we discerned that offshore wind farm construction noise has minimal effect on squid movement energetics. The initial analyses of our field studies suggest that vertical migration movements by ecologically key squid is variable (not predictable), and perhaps disturbed, during warming conditions. This would have huge impacts for the largest migration on earth. Specifically, some animals did not partake in upward migration into the warmer surface water, which was something not seen in the baseline data and or in previous reports. This suggests that climate change may influence key animal movements within the largest migration on earth. We were also able to develop new ITag sensors as noted above. We trained several additional young researchers to use these tags and think about experimental design with them. This includes multiple PhD students, a NSF supported post-baccalaureate guest student researcher, a new Research Assistant, undergraduate students and a young engineer. All are being trained to use and develop these tags, including field deployment, data management and data analysis. And we are disseminating these data through publications, presentations, public engagement and making data and tool resources open access online. Last Modified: 12/05/2023 Submitted by: AranMooney