Ocean life may adapt to climate change, but with hidden costs

Read the full story from the University of Vermont.

A new study shows that some ocean animals may be able evolve their way out of troubles caused by climate change — but at a high cost. By artificially evolving 23 generations of a marine copepod, Acartia tonsa, a team of scientists found that the tiny creatures could adapt to the high temperatures and carbon dioxide levels forecast for the warming oceans. But to get there, the populations had to spend a lot of their genetic flexibility — leaving them vulnerable to new stresses, like low food.

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