Abstract
For many species, seasonal changes in key environmental variables such as food availability, light, and temperature drive the timing (“phenology”) of major life‐history events. Extensive evidence from terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats shows that global warming is changing the timings of many biological events; however, few of these studies have investigated the effects of climate change on the phenology of larval recruitment in marine invertebrates. Here, we studied temperature‐related phenological shifts in the breeding season of the shipworm Teredo navalis (Mollusca, Bivalvia). We compared data for the recruitment period of T. navalis along the Swedish west coast during 2004–2006 with similar data from 1971–1973, and related differences in recruitment timing to changes in sea surface temperature over the same period. We found no significant shift in the timing of onset of recruitment over this ~30‐year time span, but the end of recruitment was an average of 26 days later in recent years, leading to significantly longer recruitment periods. These changes correlated strongly with increased sea surface temperatures and coincided with published thermal tolerances for reproduction in T. navalis. Our findings are broadly comparable with other reports of phenological shifts in marine species, and suggest that warmer sea surface temperatures are increasing the likelihood of successful subannual reproduction and intensifying recruitment of T. navalis in this region.
Highlights
There is substantial evidence that climate warming is driving changes in the Earth0s biological systems (Parmesan 2006; Thackeray et al 2010; Donnelly et al 2011; Wernberg et al 2011; Stocker et al 2014)
Corresponding dates for first (FAD) and last (LAD) observed recruits were 30th June Æ 6.4 days and 7th October Æ 9.9 days, respectively (Fig. 2, Table 1, all data means Æ SEM)
Our results show clearly that the length of the recruitment period of shipworms in western Sweden has increased significantly over the last 35 years and that this has occurred in concert with significant summer warming of the sea surface
Summary
There is substantial evidence that climate warming is driving changes in the Earth0s biological systems (Parmesan 2006; Thackeray et al 2010; Donnelly et al 2011; Wernberg et al 2011; Stocker et al 2014). Phenological shifts have been reported for plankton (Calbet et al 2014; Villarino et al 2015), benthos (Philippart et al 2003, 2014; Moore et al 2011; Richards 2012), and fish (Perry et al 2005; Neidetcher et al 2014; Asch 2015) These have in turn raised concerns about the synchrony of interactions and possible mismatches between different trophic levels (Beaugrand et al 2003; Donnelly et al 2011; Atkinson et al 2015)
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