Climate change can drive marine diseases
Colleen A. Burge, Paul K. Hershberger
Abstract
As an ultimate driver of marine ecosystem processes, climate change is expected to influence proximate disease drivers in marine systems. The observable effects of climate change, including changes in temperature, hypoxia, CO<sub>2</sub> accumulation, precipitation, and storm and cyclone frequencies and intensities, may directly act as proximate drivers of marine disease, especially in poikilotherms. These climate-driven changes are expected to result in the active and passive movement of pathogens and hosts into previously naïve geographical areas, thereby disrupting the long-evolved, stable host–pathogen relationships. Additionally, large-scale ecological changes stemming from climate change are expected to impact pathogen virulence and host susceptibilities. These real and anticipated changes present evolving challenges for resource managers who are charged with managing stochastic marine diseases in a constantly changing environment.