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Thermal specialization across large geographical scales predicts the resilience of mangrove crab populations to global warming

Fusi, Marco; Giomi, Folco; Babbini, Simone; Daffonchio, Daniele; McQuaid, Christopher; Porri, Francesca; Cannicci, Stefano

Authors

Marco Fusi

Folco Giomi

Simone Babbini

Daniele Daffonchio

Christopher McQuaid

Francesca Porri

Stefano Cannicci



Abstract

The broad prediction that ectotherms will be more vulnerable to climate change in the tropics than in temperate regions includes assumptions about centre/edge population effects that can only be tested by within species comparisons across wide latitudinal gradients. Here, we investigated the thermal vulnerability of two mangrove crab species, comparing populations at the centre (Kenya) and edge (South Africa) of their distributions. At the same time, we investigated the role of respiratory mode (water- vs air-breathing) in determining the thermal tolerance in amphibious organisms. To do this, we compared the vulnerability to acute temperature fluctuations of two sympatric species with two different lifestyle adaptations: the free living Perisesarma guttatum and the burrowing Uca urvillei, both pivotal to the ecosystem functioning of mangroves. The results revealed the air-breathing U. urvillei to be a thermal generalist with much higher thermal tolerances than P. guttatum. Importantly, however, we found that, while U. urvillei showed little difference between edge and centre populations, P. guttatum showed adaptation to local conditions. Equatorial populations had elevated tolerances to acute heat stress and mechanisms of partial thermoregulation, which make them less vulnerable to global warming than temperate co-specifics. The results reveal both the importance of respiratory mode on thermal tolerance and the unexpected potential for low latitude populations/species to endure a warming climate and furthermore contribute to build a conceptual model on the latitudinal thermal tolerance of these key species. This highlights the need for an
integrated population-level approach to predicting the consequences of climate change.

Citation

Fusi, M., Giomi, F., Babbini, S., Daffonchio, D., McQuaid, C., Porri, F., & Cannicci, S. (2015). Thermal specialization across large geographical scales predicts the resilience of mangrove crab populations to global warming. Oikos, 124(6), https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.01757

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 24, 2014
Online Publication Date Nov 18, 2014
Publication Date 2015-06
Deposit Date Jun 27, 2019
Publicly Available Date Jun 27, 2019
Print ISSN 0030-1299
Electronic ISSN 1600-0706
Publisher Nordic Ecological Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 124
Issue 6
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.01757
Keywords East Africa; Global warming; Latitudinal effect; Mangrove macrobenthos, Respiratory mode; Thermal specialization; Thermoregulation
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1914605
Contract Date Jun 27, 2019

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