NextGen

The rate and scale of climate changes and ocean acidification have already resulted in consequences for marine ecosystems. Yet, evolutionary responses may help marine species counter stressful conditions. The question is can they respond fast enough? Empirical evidence is accumulating that marine species might be able to adapt to rapid environmental change if they have suffcient standing genetic variation and/or phenotypic plasticity to mount fast responses. Phenotypic plasticity, whether within a generation (developmental) or across generations (transgenerational), may be a particularly effective mechanism that can buffer populations against immediate impacts of global change and provide time for genetic adaptation to catch up. Here we aim at investigating whether developmental and transgenerational exposure can improve fish species' resilience to future global changes. The focus will be on the phenotypic variation in reproduction, growth, condition, behaviour and aerobic metabolism.