Tiny marine algae can evolve fast enough to cope with climate change - an indication that some ocean life might be more resilient than thought to rising temperatures and marine acidification, a study has shown.
Sunday's study found that a type of microscopic algae that can produce 500 generations a year can thrive when exposed to the warmer and more acid water predicted for the mid-2100s.
The Emiliania huxleyi phytoplankton studied are a main source of food for fish and other ocean life.
They also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, as they grow.
Thorsten Reusch, author of the study at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, in Kiel, Germany, cautioned that the findings applied to only one species of algae in a laboratory test, in water in which there were no predators or disease-causing agents.
The study showed that the algae, taken from water at 15C off Norway, tended to grow to a smaller size in higher temperatures but also grew faster, producing a larger volume overall.
Stephen Palumbi, a professor of biology at Stanford University, US, said some coral reefs or sea urchins could also be resilient to ocean changes.
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