Hypoxia impairs survival and alters immune and iron metabolism gene expression during shark early ontogeny

). Catshark embryos were resilient to deoxygenation, with only a 10 % decline in survival compared to the control, and only the gene expression of melanotransferrin changed. Under hypoxia, growth was unaffected, but survival decreased by 31 % compared to the control in LE, highlighting an inadequate physiological response. Developmental stage affected the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (hif1a), iron metabolism and immune-related genes, pointing to critical response mechanisms. The EE stage had an optimised stress response under hypoxia compared to LE, with the upregulation of the hif1a gene. The lack of a protective response and compromised immune-related functions under hypoxia in LE raise concerns about species survival under climate change. These findings highlight the need for further research on the likely resilience of sharks to environmental challenges.