Climate change is not only making survival difficult for humans and land animals, but also for aquatic species. But there are some fish that are able to cope with the warming temperatures of oceans. Researchers have been able to know how they do it.

In the study, the researchers have assessed the genes of coral reef fish. The species of the fish studies was damselfish.They have assessed how the fish genes responded after many generations have lived at higher temperatures that predicted climate change.

Heather Veilleux from James Cook University in Queensland said that they came to know some fish have great capacity to adjust to higher water temperatures after living for so many years in that environment. With the help of cutting-edge molecular methods, the researchers came to know about 53 important genes that were having role in long-term, multi-generational acclimation to higher temperatures.

“We found significantly higher levels of metabolic gene activity in fish exposed to higher temperatures for two generations, indicating that shifts in energy production are central to maintaining performance at higher temperatures”, affirmed Veilleux.

Professor Philip Munday, a report author from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, said that from the study, they have come to know that some fish can thrive at higher temperature if the both, offspring and their parents have remained under high temperatures.

The research findings will help improve researchers’ understandings about adaptive responses to rapid environmental change.