Temperature dynamics, not just extremes, impact heat tolerance in mussels
University of Washington
image:
Mussels from Washington state waters. This common coastal species often consumed by humans can also be used to study the impacts of environmental variability.
view moreCredit: Andrew Dale
Intertidal mussels, forming bumpy layers on shoreline rocks, withstand significant temperature swings as the tide ebbs and flows. These creatures live in one of the most thermally variable environments on Earth, but a new study shows that the rate, timing and duration of heating and cooling impact their metabolic rate, a proxy for overall health. At the UW’s Friday Harbor Laboratories, researchers exposed mussels to temperature regimens with equal highs and lows but different patterns of change. Even when the average temperature for a set period was the same, the mussels’ response was distinct. These results, published March 19 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, show that predicting how marine organisms respond to climate change means considering how temperature changes over time, not just how warm it gets.
For more information, contact lead author Michael Nishizaki, assistant professor of biology at the College of the Holy Cross and a mentor for the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories REU program, at mnishizaki@holycross.edu.
The other UW co-author is Sara (Grace) Leuchtenberger. A full list of co-authors and funding is available in the paper.
Journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Article Title
Thermal variability: how realistic temperature fluctuations alter physiological performance in intertidal mussels
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