Paper Reviewed
Wang, Q., Yu, S. and Dong, Y. 2015. Parental effect of long acclimatization on thermal tolerance of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. PLoS ONE 10(11): e0143372.

Writing as background for their study, Wang et al. (2015) note that "stress responses play an important role in shaping species distributions and robustness to climate change," while adding that "many aquatic organisms have developed capacities for thermal acclimatization that provide greater tolerance to exposure to stressful temperatures." Such acclimatization usually occurs within an organism's lifetime, but its effects can persist over several generations. And although more and more studies are being conducted on this topic, Wang et al. report that very few have focused on sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicas), which they say is "one of the most important aquaculture species in China" with a production value of over $3 billion USD annually. Thus, in an attempt to remedy this data void, the team of three Chinese researchers set out to investigate how the parental effect of acclimatization influences the thermal tolerance of sea cucumber offspring.

To accomplish their objective the scientists transplanted adult sea cucumbers from the same broodstock southward and acclimatized them in field mesocosms at higher temperatures. Then, they subjected four groups of juveniles, whose parents had experienced different durations of high temperature acclimatization, to a series of analyses designed to elucidate their thermal tolerance. And what did their investigation reveal?

Results indicated there was a high degree of thermal tolerance among the offspring of sea cucumber parents who had experienced high temperature acclimatization. Furthermore, it was found that "with increased duration of parental acclimatization at high temperature, offspring became less sensitive to high temperature, as indicated by higher upper thermal limits, less seasonal variation of oxygen consumption, and relatively stable oxygen consumption between chronic and acute thermal stress." These findings, according to Wang et al., indicate that "the existence of a parental effect of long acclimatization would increase thermal tolerance of juveniles and change the thermal sensitivity of sea cucumber to future climate change." Thus, in a future world of warmer temperatures, sea cucumbers should have no problem adapting to the heat, thanks to transgenerational benefits derived from their progenitors.