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Epigenetic Plasticity Is Likely to Exacerbate Climate Change Vulnerability
Bing Chen1, Yiyong Chen2, Aibin Zhan2
1Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, Center for Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Global Change Biology
|August 8, 2025
Summary
Epigenetic plasticity influences species' climate change vulnerability. While plasticity alone increases risk, migration can mitigate this, offering crucial insights for biodiversity conservation and evolutionary studies.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Climate change ecology
- Genetics and epigenetics
Background:
- Climate change poses a significant threat to global biodiversity.
- Adaptation and migration are key evolutionary processes studied in response to environmental change.
- The role of phenotypic plasticity in mediating species' responses to climate change is underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of epigenetic plasticity on the climate change vulnerability of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).
- To compare the effects of plasticity and migration on species' responses to projected climate scenarios.
- To advance range modeling by integrating plasticity into predictions of species' responses to environmental change.
Main Methods:
- Estimation of epigenetic plasticity's influence on threespine stickleback responses to climate change.
- Modeling of species vulnerability under projected climates, considering the availability of plastic loci.
- Assessment of the mitigating effect of short-distance migration on climate change vulnerability.
Main Results:
- Vulnerability to projected climates was highest when only plastic loci were available to populations.
- Short-distance migration was found to mitigate the increased vulnerability caused by reliance on plasticity alone.
- Epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in mediating both evolved and plastic responses to environmental change.
Conclusions:
- Epigenetic plasticity is a critical factor in species' persistence under climate change.
- The interplay between plasticity and migration significantly shapes species' responses to changing environments.
- Incorporating plasticity into ecological models provides a more comprehensive understanding of species' future distributions.
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