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Ocean acidification may be impacting upon the population dynamics of marine species and hindering their ability to genetically adapt to future climate change, following an investigation into how the gastropod Hexaplex trunculus has responded to ocean acidification over multiple generations. Researchers found evidence that individuals have to trade-off maintaining their shells in order to compensate for a higher cost of living in acidified conditions. They also discovered these changes to the energy budget may not be the same for males and females. Those individuals contributing to reproduction change year-on-year, resulting in a genetic drift that could hinder the potential for genetic adaptation to ocean acidification. [Source: EurekaAlert!]
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