Abstract: An understanding of the capacity for species to acclimate and adapt to rapid climate change is critical for effective management and conservation of ecosystems in the future. Much of the research to date has used the present-day thermal performance and sensitivity of populations or species to infer the capacity for persistence in predicted future environments. While this research suggests very little capacity for species to cope with future warming, new findings have shown that some species may be able to improve thermal performance when chronic warming conditions are experienced early in life or when previous generations have experienced warmer conditions. I present a series of studies that highlight the ability of tropical reef fish to developmentally and transgenerationally acclimate to projected ocean warming. I will discuss evidence for differences between species, populations and within individuals depending on the traits investigated.

Biography: Dr Jenni Donelson is a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of the Environment at the University of Technology, Sydney. Her research focuses on the plasticity of organisms in the face of changing environmental conditions. Specifically, on the capacity for developmental and transgenerational plasticity of reef fish to potentially enhance performance in future environments. Jenni received her doctorate from James Cook University in 2012 for research on the potential for thermal acclimation in a common coral reef damselfish. She is currently the Hon Treasurer of the Australian Coral Reef Society and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board at Global Change Biology.