(2015)
Please note that Erika Eliason is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her lab website is: erikaeliason.com
My research examines the basic physiological processes that allow fish to thrive in their environment. I examine the integrated physiological mechanisms that allow fish to exercise, digest and reproduce. I am especially interested in how fish populations are physiologically adapted to their local environment.
Another aspect of my research examines the physiological basis for thermal tolerance. Accumulating evidence suggests that thermal tolerance is set by cardiac function in many species of ectotherms and may be a key limiting factor regulating species distribution globally. My research examines how cardiac function sets thermal limits.
I use an integrative approach to examine questions across all levels of biological organization (population, whole animal, organ, cellular to genome-level) using a variety of techniques (e.g., biotelemetry, respirometry, surgical intervention, blood gas measurements, plasma chemistry, microscopy, enzyme assays, qRT-PCR, microarrays).
Background
2014 – Present: NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON
2012–13: NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Sydney, Australia
2011–12: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
2006–11: Ph.D. in Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
2003–06: M.Sc. in Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
1998–03: B.Sc. in Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
Lab Publications (32)
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Ekström, A., B. Hendriks, J.C. Van Wert, M.J.H. Gilbert, A.P. Farrell, S.J. Cooke, D.A. Patterson, S.G. Hinch and E.J. Eliason. 2023. Impairing cardiac oxygen supply in swimming coho salmon compromises their heart function and tolerance to acute warming. Scientific Reports. 13:21204.
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Donaldson, M.R., S. Landovskis, G.S. Deveau, E.J. Eliason, K.M. Jeffries, M.S. Poesch, D.A.R. Drake, D.C. Braun, V.M. Nguyen, G.D. Raby, R.J. Lennox, H. Swanson, B. Favaro, S.D. Bower, N.W. Lapointe, C.T. Hasler and S.J. Cooke. 2023. Perspectives on the future of freshwater fisheries science, management, and policy in Canada. Pages 563-587 in C.T. Hasler, J.G. Imhof, N.E. Mandrak and S.J. Cooke, Editors. Freshwater fisheries in Canada: Historical and contemporary perspectives on the resources and their management. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.
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Birnie-Gauvin, K., D.A. Patterson, S.J. Cooke, S.G. Hinch and E.J. Eliason. 2023. Anaerobic exercise and recovery: roles and implications for mortality in Pacific salmon. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture. 31(4):497-522,
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Lawrence, M.J, T.S. Prystay, M. Dick, E.J. Eliason, C.K. Elvidge, S.G. Hinch, D.A. Patterson, A.G. Lotto and S.J. Cooke. 2023. Metabolic constraints and individual variation shape the trade-off between physiological recovery and antipredator responses in adult sockeye salmon. Journal of Fish Biology. 103:280-291.
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Van Wert, J.C., B. Hendriks, A. Ekström, D.A. Patterson, S.J. Cooke, S.G. Hinch and E.J. Eliason. 2023. Population variability in thermal performance of pre-spawning adult Chinook salmon. Conservation Physiology. 11:coad022.
Other Publications
Eliason, E.J., A.P. Farrell. 2014. Effect of hypoxia on specific dynamic action and postprandial cardiovascular physiology in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A in press
Antilla, K., E.J. Eliason, K.H. Kaukinen, K.M. Miller, A.P. Farrell. 2014. Facing warm temperatures during migration – cardiac mRNA responses of two adult sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka populations to warming and swimming challenges. Journal of Fish Biology in press
Eliason, E.J., T.D. Clark, S.G. Hinch, A.P. Farrell. 2013. Cardiorespiratory performance and blood chemistry during swimming and recovery in different populations of adult sockeye salmon. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 166: 385-397
Eliason, E.J., T.D. Clark, S.G. Hinch, A.P. Farrell. 2013. Cardiorespiratory collapse at high temperature in swimming adult sockeye salmon. Conservation Physiology 1: doi:10.1093/conphys/cot008
Eliason, E.J., S.M. Wilson, A.P. Farrell, S.J. Cooke, S.G. Hinch. 2013. Low cardiac and aerobic scope in a coastal population of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka with a short upriver migration. Journal of Fish Biology 82: 2104-2112
Wilson, S.M., S.G. Hinch, E.J. Eliason, A.P. Farrell, S.J. Cooke. 2012. Calibrating acoustic acceleration transmitters for estimating energy use by wild adult Pacific salmon. Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry A 164: 491-498
Jeffries, K.J., S.G. Hinch, T. Sierocinski, T.D. Clark, E.J. Eliason, M. Donaldson, S. Li, P. Pavlidis, K. Miller. 2012. Consequences of high temperatures and premature mortality on the transcriptome and blood physiology of wild adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Ecology and Evolution 2: 1747-1764
Cooke, S.J., S.G. Hinch, M.R. Donaldson, T.D. Clark, E.J. Eliason, G.T. Crossin, G.D. Raby, K.M. Jeffries, M. Lapointe, K. Miller, D.A. Patterson, A.P. Farrell. 2012. Conservation physiology in practice: How physiological knowledge has improved our ability to sustainably manage Pacific salmon during up-river migration. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B. 367: 1757-1769
Gale, M.K., S.G. Hinch, E.J. Eliason, S.J. Cooke, D.A. Patterson. 2011. Physiological impairment of adult sockeye salmon in fresh water after simulated capture-and-release across a range of temperatures. Fisheries Research 112: 85-95
Eliason, E.J., T.D. Clark, M.J. Hague, L.M. Hanson, Z.S. Gallagher, K.M. Jeffries, M.K. Gale, D.A. Patterson, S.G. Hinch, A.P. Farrell. 2011. Differences in thermal tolerance among sockeye salmon populations. Science 332: 109-112
Eliason, E.J., B. Djordjevic, S. Trattner, J. Pickova, A. Karlsson, A.P. Farrell, A. Kiessling. 2010. The effect of hepatic passage on postprandial plasma lipid profile of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) after a single meal. Aquaculture Nutrition 16: 536-543
Farrell, A.P., E.J. Eliason, E. Sandblom, T.D. Clark. 2009. Fish cardiorespiratory physiology in an era of climate change. Canadian Journal of Zoology 87: 835-851
Clark, T. D., E.J. Eliason, E. Sandblom, S.G. Hinch, A.P. Farrell. 2008. Calibration of a hand-held haemoglobin analyser for use on fish blood. Journal of Fish Biology 73: 2587-2595
Eliason, E.J., D.A. Higgs, A.P. Farrell. 2008. Postprandial gastrointestinal blood flow, oxygen consumption and heart rate in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 149: 380-388
Steinhausen, M. F., E. Sandblom, E.J. Eliason, C.V. Verhille, A. P. Farrell. 2008. The effect of acute temperature increases on the cardiorespiratory performance of resting and swimming sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Journal of Experimental Biology 211: 3915-3926
Eliason, E.J., D.A. Higgs, A.P. Farrell. 2007. Effect of isoenergetic diets with different protein and lipid content on the growth performance and heat increment of rainbow trout. Aquaculture 272: 723-736
Eliason, E.J., A. Kiessling, A. Karlsson, B. Djordjevic, A.P. Farrell. 2007. Validation of the hepatic portal vein cannulation technique using Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. Journal of Fish Biology 71: 290-297
Karlsson, A., E.J. Eliason, L.T. Mydland, A.P. Farrell, A. Kiessling. 2006. Postprandial changes in plasma free amino acid levels obtained simultaneously from the hepatic portal vein and the dorsal aorta in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Journal of Experimental Biology 209: 4885-4894
