Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
College/School
College of Science and Mathematics
Department/Program
Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Kevin Bilyk
Committee Member
Lisa Hazard
Committee Member
Matthew Schuler
Abstract
Climate change is driving rapid shifts in aquatic ecosystems, increasing the frequency and intensity of environmental stressors that affect survival, species distributions, and productivity. Alongside increases in temperature, stressors, such as hypoxia and acidification, are also intensifying with climate change. Teleost fishes exhibit substantial variation in tolerance to such environmental stressors. These range from specialists with narrow limits to generalists capable of persisting across fluctuating conditions, complicating predictions of vulnerability under ongoing environmental change. Transcriptomic approaches, particularly RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), provide a powerful approach for linking environmental stressors to physiological responses by quantifying genome-wide changes in gene expression. To assess past use of RNA-seq in studies of environmental stress in teleost fishes, we compiled a database to examine general patterns of transcriptomic responses to temperature and other environmental stressors. Using public sequencing repositories from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, we identified RNA-sequencing studies examining acute and chronic heat and cold stress, hypoxia, and acidification at the tissue level. Studies were screened based on organism, methodology, and experimental focus, and compiled into a structured knowledge base. A total of 137 RNA-sequencing studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing a wide range of species, tissues, environmental stressors, and experimental designs. This synthesis highlights both advances and recurring challenges in RNA-seq–based studies and underscores the value of transcriptomic data for assessing physiological stress and adaptive capacity in teleost fishes under climate change.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Ammar, Aleen, "Transcriptomic Responses of Teleost Fishes to Thermal and Environmental Stress: A Synthesis of RNA-seq Studies" (2026). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1633.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1633