scholarly journals How is epigenetics predicted to contribute to climate change adaptation? What evidence do we need?

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1826) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina McGuigan ◽  
Ary A. Hoffmann ◽  
Carla M. Sgrò
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Transgenerational Effects ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
Frequency Changes

Transgenerational effects that are interpreted in terms of epigenetics have become an important research focus at a time when rapid environmental changes are occurring. These effects are usually interpreted as enhancing fitness extremely rapidly, without depending on the slower process of natural selection changing DNA-encoded (fixed) genetic variants in populations. Supporting evidence comes from a variety of sources, including environmental associations with epialleles, cross-generation responses of clonal material exposed to different environmental conditions, and altered patterns of methylation or frequency changes in epialleles across time. Transgenerational environmental effects have been postulated to be larger than those associated with DNA-encoded genetic changes, based on (for instance) stronger associations between epialleles and environmental conditions. Yet environmental associations for fixed genetic differences may always be weak under polygenic models where multiple combinations of alleles can lead to the same evolutionary outcome. The ultimate currency of adaptation is fitness, and few transgenerational studies have robustly determined fitness effects, particularly when compared to fixed genetic variants. Not all transgenerational modifications triggered by climate change will increase fitness: stressful conditions often trigger negative fitness effects across generations that can eliminate benefits. Epigenetic responses and other transgenerational effects will undoubtedly play a role in climate change adaptation, but further, well-designed, studies are required to test their importance relative to DNA-encoded changes. This article is part of the theme issue ‘How does epigenetics influence the course of evolution?’

Indigenous Women, Climate Change Impacts, and Collective Action

Hypatia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Powys Whyte
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Important Species ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Adaptation And Mitigation

Indigenous peoples must adapt to current and coming climate‐induced environmental changes like sea‐level rise, glacier retreat, and shifts in the ranges of important species. For some indigenous peoples, such changes can disrupt the continuance of the systems of responsibilities that their communities rely on self‐consciously for living lives closely connected to the earth. Within this domain of indigeneity, some indigenous women take seriously the responsibilities that they may perceive they have as members of their communities. For the indigenous women who have such outlooks, responsibilities that they assume in their communities expose them to harms stemming from climate change impacts and other environmental changes. Yet at the same time, their commitment to these responsibilities motivates them to take on leadership positions in efforts at climate change adaptation and mitigation. I show why, at least for some indigenous women, this is an important way of framing the climate change impacts that affect them. I then argue that there is an important implication in this conversation for how we understand the political responsibilities of nonindigenous parties for supporting distinctly indigenous efforts at climate change adaptation and mitigation.

scholarly journals The CAVEheAT project: climate change, thermal niche and conservation of subterranean biodiversity

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fernandez ◽  
Andrés Millán ◽  
Valeria Rizzo ◽  
Jordi Comas ◽  
Enric Lleopard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Thermal Tolerance ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Behavioural Plasticity ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Thermal Niche ◽  
Project Climate Change

One of the main challenges in disciplines such as ecology, biogeography, conservation and evolutionary biology is to understand and predict how species will respond to environmental changes, especially within a climate change context. We focus on the deep subterranean environment to minimize uncertainties in predictions, because it is one of the few ecosystems in nature whose environmental conditions are as homogeneous as those in the laboratory and their species cannot accommodate to changing conditions by behavioural plasticity, dispersal or microhabitat use (i.e., their only possibility to cope with climate change is to persist in situ). The hypotheses established for this project are based on the exciting results obtained in some of our previous studies, in which, we found that different subterranean beetle species living under different environmental conditions have identical/similar narrow thermal tolerance ranges, suggesting a lack of evolutionary adjustment to ambient temperature for these species. This could be due to the loss of some of the physiological mechanisms related to thermal tolerance, with a likely high metabolic cost, in a stable environment but with severe resource restrictions. However, the question that remains is to what extent this surprising narrow and homogeneous thermal niche is common for the whole subterranean biodiversity, and how this issue could determine the fate of subterranean biodiversity to climate change. In this project, we are testing for the generality of these exciting previous findings by studying the thermal niche (species acclimation abilities and thermal tolerances) of different lineages of cave beetles with different degrees of specialization to subterranean environments and from different geographical areas (Pyrenees and Cantabrian Mountains) (Suppl. material 1).

Evolutionary Impacts of Climate Change

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Merilä ◽  
Ary A. Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Theoretical Studies ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Changing climatic conditions have both direct and indirect influences on abiotic and biotic processes and represent a potent source of novel selection pressures for adaptive evolution. In addition, climate change can impact evolution by altering patterns of hybridization, changing population size, and altering patterns of gene flow in landscapes. Given that scientific evidence for rapid evolutionary adaptation to spatial variation in abiotic and biotic environmental conditions—analogous to that seen in changes brought by climate change—is ubiquitous, ongoing climate change is expected to have large and widespread evolutionary impacts on wild populations. However, phenotypic plasticity, migration, and various kinds of genetic and ecological constraints can preclude organisms from evolving much in response to climate change, and generalizations about the rate and magnitude of expected responses are difficult to make for a number of reasons. First, the study of microevolutionary responses to climate change is a young field of investigation. While interest in evolutionary impacts of climate change goes back to early macroevolutionary (paleontological) studies focused on prehistoric climate changes, microevolutionary studies started only in the late 1980s. The discipline gained real momentum in the 2000s after the concept of climate change became of interest to the general public and funding organizations. As such, no general conclusions have yet emerged. Second, the complexity of biotic changes triggered by novel climatic conditions renders predictions about patterns and strength of natural selection difficult. Third, predictions are complicated also because the expression of genetic variability in traits of ecological importance varies with environmental conditions, affecting expected responses to climate-mediated selection. There are now several examples where organisms have evolved in response to selection pressures associated with climate change, including changes in the timing of life history events and in the ability to tolerate abiotic and biotic stresses arising from climate change. However, there are also many examples where expected selection responses have not been detected. This may be partly explainable by methodological difficulties involved with detecting genetic changes, but also by various processes constraining evolution. There are concerns that the rates of environmental changes are too fast to allow many, especially large and long-lived, organisms to maintain adaptedness. Theoretical studies suggest that maximal sustainable rates of evolutionary change are on the order of 0.1 haldanes (i.e., phenotypic standard deviations per generation) or less, whereas the rates expected under current climate change projections will often require faster adaptation. Hence, widespread maladaptation and extinctions are expected. These concerns are compounded by the expectation that the amount of genetic variation harbored by populations and available for selection will be reduced by habitat destruction and fragmentation caused by human activities, although in some cases this may be countered by hybridization. Rates of adaptation will also depend on patterns of gene flow and the steepness of climatic gradients. Theoretical studies also suggest that phenotypic plasticity (i.e., nongenetic phenotypic changes) can affect evolutionary genetic changes, but relevant empirical evidence is still scarce. While all of these factors point to a high level of uncertainty around evolutionary changes, it is nevertheless important to consider evolutionary resilience in enhancing the ability of organisms to adapt to climate change.

Water, livelihoods and climate change adaptation in the Tonle Sap Lake area, Cambodia: learning from the past to understand the future

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Nuorteva ◽  
Marko Keskinen ◽  
Olli Varis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Flood Pulse ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Tonle Sap Lake ◽  
Tonle Sap

The changing environment is expected to intensify the challenges that people in developing countries are facing, particularly among the groups whose livelihoods depend on natural resources. The adaptive capacity of livelihoods largely defines the extent to which people can cope with future environmental changes, whether caused by climate change or other factors such as land use changes and water resources development. This article analyses the resilience and adaptive capacity of rural livelihoods around Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake, an exceptional lake-floodplain system dominated by flood pulse. The research findings demonstrate that despite the people's tradition of adapting to the remarkable seasonal variation of water and related resources, their capacity to adapt to unusual environmental changes is weak, with the poorest being clearly the most vulnerable group. Reasons for the weak resilience include villages' relatively homogenous livelihood structures, unjust governance practices, increasing inequality and the lack of opportunities for livelihood diversification. It is concluded that while climate change is likely to pose a remarkable challenge to people's livelihoods in the longer term, climate change adaptation activities should also take into account other environmental changes. Equally critical is the understanding of the broader socio-political context and its dynamics in increasing—and decreasing—livelihood resilience.

Climate change and water resources in the Lower Mekong River Basin: putting adaptation into the context

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Keskinen ◽  
S. Chinvanno ◽  
M. Kummu ◽  
P. Nuorteva ◽  
A. Snidvongs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Mekong River ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Mekong River Basin ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales

Adaptation to climate change has become one of the focal points of current development discussion. This article summarises the findings from a multidisciplinary research project looking at climate change impacts and adaptation in the Mekong River Basin in Southeast Asia. The research highlights the central role that the hydrological cycle has in mediating climate change impacts on ecosystems and societies. The findings indicate that climate change should not be studied in isolation, as there are several other factors that are affecting the hydrological cycle. In the Mekong, the most important such factor is the on-going hydropower development that is likely to induce changes at least as radical as climate change, but with shorter timescales. The article concludes that climate change adaptation should broaden its view to consider environmental changes likely to occur due to different factors at various spatial and temporal scales. It is also important to recognise that climate change adaptation is a dynamic, development-orientated process that should consider also broader socio-political context. To enable this, we propose that an area-based adaptation approach should be used more actively to complement the dominant sector-based approaches.

scholarly journals Constraints and Opportunities for the Evolution of Metamorphic Organisms in a Changing Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuichiro Suzuki ◽  
Lyanna Toh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Postembryonic Development ◽  
Endocrine Regulation ◽  
Tissue Specific ◽  
Genetic Accommodation ◽  
The Many

We argue that developmental hormones facilitate the evolution of novel phenotypic innovations and timing of life history events by genetic accommodation. Within an individual’s life cycle, metamorphic hormones respond readily to environmental conditions and alter adult phenotypes. Across generations, the many effects of hormones can bias and at times constrain the evolution of traits during metamorphosis; yet, hormonal systems can overcome constraints through shifts in timing of, and acquisition of tissue specific responses to, endocrine regulation. Because of these actions of hormones, metamorphic hormones can shape the evolution of metamorphic organisms. We present a model called a developmental goblet, which provides a visual representation of how metamorphic organisms might evolve. In addition, because developmental hormones often respond to environmental changes, we discuss how endocrine regulation of postembryonic development may impact how organisms evolve in response to climate change. Thus, we propose that developmental hormones may provide a mechanistic link between climate change and organismal adaptation.

Social Capital and Climate Change Adaptation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Aldrich ◽  
Courtney M. Page-Tan ◽  
Christopher J. Paul
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
National Level ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
The Future

Anthropogenic climate change increasingly disrupts livelihoods, floods coastal urban cities and island nations, and exacerbates extreme weather events. There is near-universal consensus among scientists that in order to reverse or at least mitigate climate disruptions, limits must be imposed on anthropogenic sources of climate-forcing emissions and adaptation to changing global conditions will be necessary. Yet adaptation to current and future climate change at the individual, community, and national levels vary widely from merely coping, to engaging in adaptive change, to transformative shifts. Some of those affected simply cope with lower crop yields, flooded streets, and higher cooling bills. Others incrementally adapt to new environmental conditions, for example, by raising seawalls or shifting from one crop to another better suited for a hotter environment. The highest—and perhaps least likely—type of change involves transformation, radically altering practices with an eye toward the future. Transformative adaptation may involve a livelihood change or permanent migration; it might require shuttering whole industries and rethinking industrial policy at the national level. Entire island nations such as Fiji, for example, are considering relocating from vulnerable locations to areas better suited to rising sea levels. A great deal of research has shown how social capital (the bonding, bridging, and linking connections to others) provides information on trustworthiness, facilitates collective action, and connects us to external resources during disasters and crises. We know far less about the relationship between social capital and adaptation behaviors in terms of the choices that people make to accommodate changing environmental conditions. A number of unanswered but critical questions remain: How precisely does social capital function in climate change adaptation? To what degree does strong bonding social capital substitute for successful adaptation behaviors for individuals or groups? Which combinations of social factors make coping, adapting, and transforming most likely? How can social capital help migrating populations maintain cultural identity under stress? How can local networks be integrated into higher-level policy interventions to improve adaptation? Which political and social networks contribute to transformative responses to climate change at local, regional, and international levels? This article serves as a comprehensive literature review, overview of empirical findings to date, and a research agenda for the future.

scholarly journals Evolutionary tipping points in the capacity to adapt to environmental change

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A. Botero ◽  
Franz J. Weissing ◽  
Jonathan Wright ◽  
Dustin R. Rubenstein
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Parameter Space ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Tipping Points ◽  
Fluctuating Selection

In an era of rapid climate change, there is a pressing need to understand how organisms will cope with faster and less predictable variation in environmental conditions. Here we develop a unifying model that predicts evolutionary responses to environmentally driven fluctuating selection and use this theoretical framework to explore the potential consequences of altered environmental cycles. We first show that the parameter space determined by different combinations of predictability and timescale of environmental variation is partitioned into distinct regions where a single mode of response (reversible phenotypic plasticity, irreversible phenotypic plasticity, bet-hedging, or adaptive tracking) has a clear selective advantage over all others. We then demonstrate that, although significant environmental changes within these regions can be accommodated by evolution, most changes that involve transitions between regions result in rapid population collapse and often extinction. Thus, the boundaries between response mode regions in our model correspond to evolutionary tipping points, where even minor changes in environmental parameters can have dramatic and disproportionate consequences on population viability. Finally, we discuss how different life histories and genetic architectures may influence the location of tipping points in parameter space and the likelihood of extinction during such transitions. These insights can help identify and address some of the cryptic threats to natural populations that are likely to result from any natural or human-induced change in environmental conditions. They also demonstrate the potential value of evolutionary thinking in the study of global climate change.

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