Jennifer Sunday
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Simon Fraser University

Date/Time: Wed, April 4, 15:30 – 16:30
Venue: IMAS Sandy Bay seminar room

Abstract:
Climate change is creating alterations to the ocean environment, changing the game for marine life as we know it, and presenting exploitation challenges and opportunities. Yet predicting individual species responses requires understanding how climatic factors are presently limiting to a species, and allowing for the potential of evolutionary adaptation. Here I present results from two studies working towards understanding species-level responses to global change.  The first uses a macroecological approach to understand global patterns in thermal biology that can inform how species ranges will expand and contract under warming.  Results indicate a previously undescribed difference between marine and terrestrial animals in the extent to which they are affected by climate warming. The second study explores the potential for two coastal exploited species to adapt evolutionarily to ocean acidification.   This work suggests species differ widely in their potentials to adapt to pH change and provides direction for incorporating evolutionary potential into climate impacts studies.