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

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).