Editorial: Immunity and disease of aquatic organisms under the combined impact of anthropogenic stressors: mechanisms and disease outcomes

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities have high impact on the world’s ecosystems and are strong drivers of environmental change. Modifications of habitats to fit the needs of society are causing severe effects including global warming, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and mass extinction (Ceballos et al., 2015; Ceballos et al., 2017; USGCRP, 2017). Temperature changes are evident (IPCC, 2014) and climate change is fueling extreme weather events worldwide. The impact of warming, acidification and deoxygenation are already having a dramatic effect on the flora and fauna of the oceans with significant changes in distribution of populations and decline in sensitive species (Bijma et al., 2013). These climate-related alterations of aquatic species’ ecological conditions often occur in combination with the presence of other anthropogenic stressors, such as pollution (Groh et al., 2022), eutrophication (Chislock et al., 2013), or overfishing (Jackson et al., 2001). The cumulative impact of these multiple man-made stressors can have severe and often unexpected consequences on aquatic organisms (Crain et al., 2008; Shears and Ross, 2010; Segner et al., 2014).