Journal article
Macroscale patterns in body size of intertidal crustaceans provide insights on climate change effects
PLoS One, Vol.12(5), e0177116
2017
Abstract
Predicting responses of coastal ecosystems to altered sea surface temperatures (SST) associated with global climate change, requires knowledge of demographic responses of individual species. Body size is an excellent metric because it scales strongly with growth and fecundity for many ectotherms. These attributes can underpin demographic as well as community and ecosystem level processes, providing valuable insights for responses of vulnerable coastal ecosystems to changing climate. We investigated contemporary macroscale patterns in body size among widely distributed crustaceans that comprise the majority of intertidal abundance and biomass of sandy beach ecosystems of the eastern Pacific coasts of Chile and California, USA. We focused on ecologically important species representing different tidal zones, trophic guilds and developmental modes, including a high-shore macroalga-consuming talitrid amphipod (Orchestoidea tuberculata), two mid-shore scavenging cirolanid isopods (Excirolana braziliensis and E. hirsuticauda), and a low-shore suspension-feeding hippid crab (Emerita analoga) with an amphitropical distribution. Significant latitudinal patterns in body sizes were observed for all species in Chile (21° - 42°S), with similar but steeper patterns in Emerita analoga, in California (32°- 41°N). Sea surface temperature was a strong predictor of body size (-4% to -35% °C-1) in all species. Beach characteristics were subsidiary predictors of body size. Alterations in ocean temperatures of even a few degrees associated with global climate change are likely to affect body sizes of important intertidal ectotherms, with consequences for population demography, life history, community structure, trophic interactions, food-webs, and indirect effects such as ecosystem function. The consistency of results for body size and temperature across species with different life histories, feeding modes, ecological roles, and microhabitats inhabiting a single widespread coastal ecosystem, and for one species, across hemispheres in this space-for-time substitution, suggests predictions of ecosystem responses to thermal effects of climate change may potentially be generalised, with important implications for coastal conservation.
Details
- Title
- Macroscale patterns in body size of intertidal crustaceans provide insights on climate change effects
- Authors
- Eduardo Jaramillo (Author) - Universidad Austral de Chile, ChileJenifer E Dugan (Author) - University of California, United StatesDavid M Hubbard (Author) - University of California, United StatesHeraldo Contreras (Author) - Instituto de Fomento Pesquero, ChileCristian Duarte (Author) - Universidad AndreÂs Bello, ChileEmilio Acuna (Author) - Universidad Austral de Chile, ChileDavid S Schoeman (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
- Publication details
- PLoS One, Vol.12(5), e0177116; 24
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science
- Date published
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0177116
- ISSN
- 1932-6203
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2017 Jaramillo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of theCreative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450454802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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