ABSTRACT
It has only been since the nineteenth century, after the major scientific expeditions of the Beagle, with Charles Darwin onboard from 1831 to 1836, and of the Challenger, from 1872 to 1876 under the supervision of Charles Thomson, that researchers started to study the variability of the marine environment and not use the sea only as a transport mechanism to explore other continents. These expeditions laid the foundation for the understanding that the sea was not a homogenous environment,
5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 109 5.2 Tolerance under Multiple Stresses by Natural Factors and Chemical
Stressors ........................................................................................................ 112 5.2.1 Temperature ...................................................................................... 112 5.2.2 Nutritional Condition ........................................................................ 113 5.2.3 Salinity .............................................................................................. 113 5.2.4 Oxygen Concentration ...................................................................... 114 5.2.5 Combination of Several Natural Stressors ........................................ 115
5.3 Tolerance in Communities under Extreme Field Conditions or Species with Specific Traits ....................................................................................... 116 5.3.1 Communities in Transitional Waters ................................................ 116 5.3.2 Exotic and Cosmopolitan Species .................................................... 118 5.3.3 Commonalities for Species with Specific Traits ............................... 120
5.4 Conclusions and Epilogue ............................................................................. 120 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 121 References .............................................................................................................. 121
and that the variation and changes in this environment underlie the huge variability and suite of adaptations found in nature.
