Anthropogenic CO2 emissions are causing the oceans to simultaneously warm and become increasingly acidic, with rates of change that are putting evolutionary pressure on many marine organisms. As a result, both short-term responses and the ability of organisms to acclimate to rapid environmental change through phenotypic plasticity are expected to play a considerable role in persistence of many species under future ocean change. Evidence is accumulating that non-genetic inheritance and transgenerational plasticity (TGP) may be important mechanisms which may facilitate acclimation to ocean warming and acidification. This thesis tests the overarching hypothesis that TGP and parental acclimation to predicted ocean warming and acidification conditions promote greater resilience in offspring using two tropical sea urchins, Tripneustes gratilla and Echinometra sp. A, as model organisms.
Karelitz, S. E., 2020. Transgenerational plasticity and acclimation of tropical sea urchins to ocean warming and acidification. PhD thesis, University of Otago. Article (restricted access).
