Climate Change and its Impact on Marine Animal Populations Investigating Adaptive Responses to Environmental Stressors

Abstract

The changing climate is affecting the ocean environments and presenting new challenges to the marine species. The increase in sea temperature, acidification of the ocean, and alteration of sea salinity is presenting to the environment stress factors that can affect the marine population of animals in different ways. The objective of this research will be to examine the population-scale impacts and adaptive mechanisms of marine animals of these stressors. The research did this by carrying out field surveys and long-term monitoring of marine species in different ecosystems. The effects on the individual health, reproductive success and the general population dynamics were tested using physiological measurements, population sampling and genetic analysis. We found considerable changes in the distribution of species, as some of them were moved to colder or more stable areas. The study also found phenotypic plasticity in some species such as shifts in growth rates and stress-resistant phenotypes, or genetic adaptations that could help individuals survive in shifting environments. However, it also discovered disastrous tendencies of population reduction, especially on species with very small adaptive abilities. These results highlight the need to learn about adaptive mechanisms to climate-related stressors in sea life. The implications of such research are that there might be the need of targeted conservation measures like habitat protection and assisted migration as a way of conserving biodiversity despite the current climatic changes.