Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Climate change and ocean acidification pose significant challenges to both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, making it critical to understand species’ vulnerability. Phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary adaptation are key mechanisms enabling organisms to cope with environmental shifts, with marine species appearing particularly susceptible. This semi-quantitative bibliometric review, conducted following PRISMA guidelines, examines research on climate change and ocean acidification impacts on marine organisms, focusing on plasticity and adaptation. We analysed 168 peer-reviewed articles published between 1995 and 2024 from Web of Science and Scopus. Publications remained low until 2013, then increased threefold, peaking in 2019, with the US, Australia, and China leading. Research predominantly addressed marine animals, especially fish, bivalves, and other invertebrates. Most studies focused on plasticity (57%) and examined molecular traits as response variables. Temperature, pH, and their combination were the most studied environmental drivers, whereas salinity and dissolved oxygen received little attention. Conceptual ambiguities in the use of plasticity and adaptation were noted. Our review highlights research gaps and emphasizes the need for integrated studies on plasticity and adaptation to better understand marine species’ vulnerability to climate change and ocean acidification and guide effective conservation and management strategies.
Source: Hydrobiologia
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,490
Awards: Complex life cycle dynamics under extreme weather events: unravelling the molecular world of marine developmental processes and carryover effects, G1348429418, Physiological, metabolic, and molecular responses of the ditch shrimp Palaemon varians to multiple global change drivers across latitude, different life stages and sex, G1448506840, G1943952239, G216912602, G2853885070, Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, G3692955262, Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, G4090066734, Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, G4971484151, G5506743709, G5734456727, G6284911539, G6784616464, G693763548, G6997658380, Instituto para a Saúde e a Bioeconomia, G7776714911, G949874453
OpenAlex ID: W7127941219