Bergquist Fellow Lecture - Professor Colin Brauner

Adaptations and Acclimation to the Environment in Fishes: Integrating Basic and Applied Research We welcome you to join us in MLT2 Lecture Theatre 303-102, on October 27, 2026 at 5:00pm for a Bergquist Fellow public lecture by Professor Colin Brauner. Abstract Fish represent half of all vertebrates and have adapted to almost every aquatic environment on the planet. However, many of these environments are currently subjected to relative rapid changes. Some of the ways that fish have adapted to extreme environments like the Amazon, Antarctica and to a high-altitude lake on Tibetan plateau will be discussed. Some fish have evolved a unique system that can double or triple oxygen unloading to the tissues during stress, such as during exercise or exposure to environmental hypoxia (low oxygen levels) with no change in the work to the heart, which will be presented. This system is thought to be important for the tremendous migratory success of salmon, and may be relatively common among fishes in general and may be associated with their tremendous adaptive radiation. By understanding basic physiological mechanisms of how fish do what they do and live where they live, great insight can be gained into applied research questions related to conservation, climate change and aquaculture which will also be discussed. Biography Dr. Brauner is a Professor in the Department of Zoology, at The University of British Columbia (UBC). He obtained his PhD from UBC, and then conducted Post-doctoral studies at the University of Aarhus and the University of Southern Denmark. He then returned to Canada as a Research Associate at McMaster University before becoming an Assistant Professor at San Diego State University, California in 2000. In 2003 he returned to UBC as an Assistant Professor where he has remained. Dr. Brauner investigates environmental adaptations (both mechanistic and evolutionary) in relation to gas-exchange, acid-base balance, and ion regulation in fish, integrating responses from the molecular, cellular, and organismal level. The ultimate goal is to understand how evolutionary pressures have shaped physiological systems among vertebrates and to determine the degree to which physiological systems can adapt/acclimate to natural and anthropogenic environmental changes. This information is crucial for basic biology and understanding how fish, which represent 50% of vertebrate species, can inhabit almost every aquatic environment on the planet. Best known for his fundamental work on the physiology of fishes, the impacts of his work are far-reaching, by having direct applications in understanding the early evolution of vertebrates, fish conservation, aquaculture, aquatic toxicology and fisheries management. He has supervised over 70 B.Sc. research projects, 35 M.Sc. students, 16 Ph.D. students and 26 post-doctoral fellows. Among these, 14 have gone on to become Professors in Canada and around the world, each with their own well-established research programs. Dr. Brauner has been co-editor of the multi-volume treatise “Fish Physiology” since 2000 and has received numerous awards including an honorary doctorate from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (2024) for career contributions to the field of aquatic biology and aquaculture. He has most recently (2026) become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has conducted research and been a co-instructor for international graduate courses in comparative physiology around the globe.