Abstract
AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 28:113-125 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00714 Plasticity of foot muscle and cardiac thermal limits in the limpet Lottia limatula from locations with differing temperatures Terrance Wang1,*, Richelle L. Tanner1,2, Eric J. Armstrong1,2, David R. Lindberg1,3, Jonathon H. Stillman1,2 1Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, 3040 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, CA 94720-3140, USA 2Estuary & Ocean Science Center and Department of Biology, Romberg Tiburon Campus, San Francisco State University, 3150 Paradise Drive, Tiburon, CA 94920, USA 3Museum of Paleontology, University of California, 1101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720-4780, USA *Corresponding author: twangs@berkeley.edu ABSTRACT: Species distributions are shifting in response to increased habitat temperatures as a result of ongoing climate change. Understanding variation in physiological plasticity among species and populations is important for predicting these distribution shifts. Interspecific variation in intertidal ectotherms’ short-term thermal plasticity has been well established. However, intraspecific variation among populations from differing thermal habitats remains a question pertinent to understanding the effects of climate change on species’ ranges. In this study, we explored upper thermal tolerance limits and plasticity of those limits using a foot muscle metric and 2 cardiac metrics (Arrhenius breakpoint temperature, ABT, and flatline temperature, FLT) in adult file limpets Lottia limatula. Limpets were collected from thermally different coastal and inland-estuarine habitats and held for 2 wk at 13, 17 or 21°C prior to thermal performance assays. Compared to limpets from the warm estuary site, limpets from the cold outer coast site had similar foot muscle critical thermal maxima (CTmax; 35.2 vs. 35.6°C) but lower cardiac thermal tolerances (ABT: 30.5 vs. 35.1°C). Limpets from the cold coast site had higher acclimation responses in foot muscle CTmax (0.22°C per 1°C rise in acclimation) than those of the warm estuary site (0.07°C per 1°C rise in acclimation), but lower acclimation responses in cardiac thermal tolerance (ABT: -0.85°C per 1°C rise in acclimation) than those of the estuary site (ABT: 0.10°C per 1°C rise in acclimation). Since outer coast populations had lower cardiac plasticity and higher mortalities in the warm acclimation, we predict L. limatula from colder habitats will be more susceptible to rising temperatures. Our findings illustrate the importance of population-specific variation in short-term thermal plasticity when considering the effects of climate change on ectotherms. KEY WORDS: Intertidal · Ectotherm · Thermal tolerance · Plasticity · Acclimation · Ecophysiology Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Wang T, Tanner RL, Armstrong EJ, Lindberg DR, Stillman JH (2019) Plasticity of foot muscle and cardiac thermal limits in the limpet Lottia limatula from locations with differing temperatures. Aquat Biol 28:113-125. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00714 Export citation Mail this link - Contents Mailing Lists - RSS Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 28. Online publication date: September 19, 2019 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.
Highlights
Since the effects of temperature are pervasive on many levels of biological organization (Somero 1997), thermal gradients are strong determinants of species distributions (Badgley & Fox 2000, Lo Presti &Oberprieler 2009)
Interspecific variation of upper thermal tolerance and plasticity has been well documented in intertidal ectotherms, but we lack a clear consensus on general patterns of intraspecific variation
This study focused on the thermal limits and plasticity of those limits in the file limpet Lottia limatula (Carpenter, 1864) across thermally variable sites in northern California
Summary
Since the effects of temperature are pervasive on many levels of biological organization (Somero 1997), thermal gradients are strong determinants of species distributions (Badgley & Fox 2000, Lo Presti &Oberprieler 2009). Thermal tolerances are thought to be adapted to their maximal habitat temperatures (Tomanek & Somero 1999, Morley et al 2009, Zippay & Hofmann 2010). Upper thermal tolerance limits have been shown to generally decrease with latitude; i.e. species living closer. Macrophysiological patterns do not occur latitudinally in intertidal zone species that experience mosaic patterns of habitat temperature maxima due to local topography and timing of tides (Helmuth et al 2006, Kuo & Sanford 2009). Interspecific variation of upper thermal tolerance and plasticity has been well documented in intertidal ectotherms, but we lack a clear consensus on general patterns of intraspecific variation. The degree to which adaptation over local habitat temperature gradients reflects macrophysiological patterns is important to understand in the context of predicting responses to environmental change
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