Asymmetric Micro-Evolutionary Responses in a Warming World: Heat-Driven Adaptation Enhances Metal Tolerance in a Planktonic Rotifer, but Not Vice Versa.

ABSTRACT: The resilience of natural populations in the face of global environmental change is determined by their ability to adapt to multiple, often interacting, stressors. Microevolutionary adaptation to one stressor can either enhance or reduce tolerance to other stressors. In the context of climate change, it is crucial to understand the effect of warming on the tolerance of organisms to additional environmental challenges. Conversely, adaptation to localized stressors, such as pollution, may also affect an organism's capacity to withstand climate change. Here, we investigate how prior adaptation to either high temperature or copper (Cu) contamination influences subsequent tolerance to the other stressor in populations of the freshwater zooplanktonic rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus (Pallas, 1766

SUBMITTER: Han S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12268377 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature