Epigenetic Plasticity Is Likely to Exacerbate Climate Change Vulnerability

© 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Détails bibliographiques
Publié dans:Global change biology. - 1999. - 31(2025), 8 vom: 08. Aug., Seite e70424
Auteur principal: Chen, Bing (Auteur)
Autres auteurs: Chen, Yiyong, Zhan, Aibin, Hu, Juntao
Format: Article en ligne
Langue:English
Publié: 2025
Accès à la collection:Global change biology
Sujets:Journal Article DNA methylation climate change epigenetics plasticity vulnerability
Description
Résumé:© 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Climate change imposes a significant threat to global biodiversity. Evolutionary processes, including adaptation and migration, have been integrated to study vulnerability to changing environments. However, the role of plasticity as a source of variation in fitness-related traits remains less explored when assessing climate change vulnerability. Epigenetic modifications can mediate both evolved and plastic responses to environmental change, thereby contributing crucially to species persistence. Here, we estimated the influence of epigenetic plasticity on the responses of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to climate change. We showed that vulnerability to projected climates was the greatest if only plastic loci were available to populations; however, the increased vulnerability could be mitigated by short-distance migration. Our study advances beyond current range modelling by incorporating plasticity into predictions of species' responses to climate change and demonstrates the contrasting roles of different evolutionary processes in shaping responses to projected environments
Description:Date Completed 08.08.2025
Date Revised 08.08.2025
published: Print
Citation Status MEDLINE
ISSN:1365-2486
DOI:10.1111/gcb.70424