Han Shuwen, Van den Brink Paul J, Declerck Steven A J
Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Glob Chang Biol. 2025 Jul;31(7):e70347. doi: 10.1111/gcb.70347.
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). Using an experimental evolution approach, we subjected populations to either gradually increasing Cu levels, elevated temperature, or control conditions over multiple generations. Subsequently, we conducted a common garden experiment to assess the effect of selection history on population performance. We found that heat-adapted populations exhibited increased tolerance to Cu, whereas Cu-adapted populations showed no enhanced tolerance to high temperatures. This form of "asymmetric cross-adaptation" is likely driven by selection for generalized stress responses associated with heat adaptation, while Cu adaptation selected for more specialized detoxification mechanisms with limited cross-protection. These findings suggest that the legacy of warming may enhance population tolerance to other stressors, whereas the benefits of adaptation to local pollution may be more constrained. Our study highlights the need to assess the generality of such patterns across taxa and stressor combinations, as this knowledge could inform environmental management strategies in multi-stressor contexts.
自然种群面对全球环境变化时的恢复力取决于它们适应多种（通常相互作用的）压力源的能力。对一种压力源的微进化适应可能会增强或降低对其他压力源的耐受性。在气候变化的背景下，了解变暖对生物体耐受其他环境挑战能力的影响至关重要。相反，对局部压力源（如污染）的适应也可能影响生物体抵御气候变化的能力。在此，我们研究了预先适应高温或铜（Cu）污染如何影响淡水浮游轮虫萼花臂尾轮虫（Brachionus calyciflorus，帕拉斯，1766年）种群对另一种压力源的后续耐受性。我们采用实验进化方法，让种群在多代时间内逐渐暴露于铜浓度增加、温度升高或对照条件下。随后，我们进行了一个共同花园实验，以评估选择历史对种群表现的影响。我们发现，适应高温的种群对铜的耐受性增强，而适应铜的种群对高温的耐受性并未提高。这种“不对称交叉适应”形式可能是由与热适应相关的广义应激反应的选择驱动的，而铜适应则选择了具有有限交叉保护作用的更专门的解毒机制。这些发现表明，变暖的遗留影响可能会增强种群对其他压力源的耐受性，而适应局部污染的益处可能更受限制。我们的研究强调需要评估这种模式在不同分类群和压力源组合中的普遍性，因为这些知识可为多压力源环境下的环境管理策略提供参考。
