Interactive effects of food availability and aerial body temperature on the survival of two intertidal Mytilus species

    Authors

    K. R. Schneider; L. E. Van Thiel;B. Helmuth

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Therm. Biol.

    Keywords

    Mytilus galloprovincialis; Mytilus trossulus; Temperature; Rocky; intertidal; Climate change; Emersion; Aerial exposure; Phytoplankton; HEAT-SHOCK RESPONSE; CLIMATE-CHANGE; NATIVE MUSSEL; THERMAL-STRESS; WAVE; EXPOSURE; NORTH PACIFIC; ROCKY SHORES; BLUE MUSSELS; GALLOPROVINCIALIS; PATTERNS; Biology; Zoology

    Abstract

    Intertidal organisms must episodically contend with the rigors of both the terrestrial and the marine environments. While body temperatures during high tide are driven primarily by water temperature, aerial body temperatures are driven by multiple environmental factors such that temperature of an organism during low tide is usually quite different from air temperature. Thus, whereas decades of research have investigated the effects of water temperature on intertidal species, considerably less is known about the physiological impacts of temperature during aerial exposure at low tide, especially with regard to the interaction of aerial body temperature with other stressors. We examined the interactive effects of aerial body temperature and food supply on the survival of two intertidal blue mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Mytilus trossulus. Survival was monitored for nine weeks using a simulated tidal cycle, with two levels of food and three levels of aerial body temperature (30, 25, and 20 degrees C). Decreased food supply significantly reduced the survival of mussels, but only under the 30 degrees C treatment. In the other two thermal regimes there were no significant effect of food on survival. When aerial body temperatures are high, food availability may have a greater effect on intertidal organisms. Decreases in ocean productivity have been linked to increased in ocean temperatures, thus intertidal organisms may become more susceptible to thermal stress as climates shift. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Thermal Biology

    Volume

    35

    Issue/Number

    4

    Publication Date

    1-1-2010

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    161

    Last Page

    166

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000278652900001

    ISSN

    0306-4565

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