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A substantial portion of seafood is mislabeled, causing significant impacts to human health, the environment, the economy, and society. Despite the large scientific literature documenting seafood mislabeling the public’s awareness of seafood mislabeling is unknown. We conducted an online survey to assess the public’s awareness and perceptions of seafood mislabeling. Of the 1,216 respondents, 38% had never heard of seafood mislabeling and 49% were only ‘vaguely familiar’ with it. After being provided the definition of seafood mislabeling 95% had some degree of concern. Respondents were the most concerned about environmental impacts caused by seafood mislabeling and the least concerned about the social justice implications. Respondents who were also more concerned and familiar with seafood mislabeling stated that they would be more likely to purchase seafood from a vendor where the labeling was independently verified. 

Abstract Laboratory assays show that parasites often have lower heat tolerance than their hosts. But how physiological tolerances and behavioral responses of hosts and parasites combine to affect their ecological interactions in heterogeneous field environments is largely unknown. We addressed this challenge using the model insect system of the braconid wasp parasitoid,Cotesia congregata, and its caterpillar host,Manduca sexta. We used experimental manipulations of microclimate in the field to determine how elevated daytime temperatures altered the behavior, performance, and survival of host and parasite. Our experimental manipulation increased daily maximum temperatures on host plants, but had negligible effects on overall mean temperature. These increased maximum temperatures resulted in subtle, biologically relevant, changes in physiology and behavior of the host and parasitoid. We found that parasitism by the wasp did not significantly alter caterpillar thermoregulatory behavior, while experimentally increased daily maximum temperatures resulted in both parasitized and unparasitized caterpillars to be found more frequently in cooler microhabitats. Overall, we did not observe the complete parasitoid mortality seen at extreme temperatures in laboratory studies, but gained insight into the sublethal effects of increased daily maximum temperatures on host and parasitoid behavior and physiology. Climate change will alter both the biotic and abiotic environments that organisms face, and we show here that empirical experiments in the field are important for understanding organismal response to these new environments.