Dataset Information

Climate-related environmental stress in intertidal grazers: scaling-up biochemical responses to assemblage-level processes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Organisms are facing increasing levels of environmental stress under climate change that may severely affect the functioning of biological systems at different levels of organization. Growing evidence suggests that reduction in body size is a universal response of organisms to global warming. However, a clear understanding of whether extreme climate events will impose selection directly on phenotypic plastic responses and how these responses affect ecological interactions has remained elusive.

Methods

We experimentally investigated the effects of extreme desiccation events on antioxidant defense mechanisms of a rocky intertidal gastropod (Patella ulyssiponensis), and evaluated how these effects scaled-up at the population and assemblage levels.

Results

With increasing levels of desiccation stress, limpets showed significant lower levels of total glutathione, tended to grow less and had reduced per capita interaction strength on their resources.

Discussion

Results suggested that phenotypic plasticity (i.e., reduction in adults' body size) allowed buffering biochemical responses to stress to scale-up at the assemblage level. Unveiling the linkages among different levels of biological organization is key to develop indicators that can anticipate large-scale ecological impacts of climate change.

SUBMITTER: Maggi E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5075701 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Climate-related environmental stress in intertidal grazers: scaling-up biochemical responses to assemblage-level processes.

Maggi Elena E Cappiello Mario M Del Corso Antonella A Lenzarini Francesca F Peroni Eleonora E Benedetti-Cecchi Lisandro L

PeerJ 20161020

<h4>Background</h4>Organisms are facing increasing levels of environmental stress under climate change that may severely affect the functioning of biological systems at different levels of organization. Growing evidence suggests that reduction in body size is a universal response of organisms to global warming. However, a clear understanding of whether extreme climate events will impose selection directly on phenotypic plastic responses and how these responses affect ecological interactions has ...[more]

PMID: 27781156

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Project description:Experiments have shown that interspecific interactions within consumer guilds can alter patterns of distribution, abundance and size of species. Plastic behavioural responses can be modulated by agonistic interactions. In many cases, consumers compete for space and shelters, and these interactions change the manner in which they exploit food. This study investigates the consequences of competition in the spatial and temporal organization of behaviour of intertidal grazers, which share algal resources and the use of rock crevices while resting, but exhibit different body sizes, spatial behaviour and foraging modes. We evaluate interaction strength between small gregarious Siphonaria lessoni and the larger territorial keyhole limpet Fissurella crassa and between S. lessoni and the medium-size gregarious chiton Chiton granosus. Using field manipulations and artificial arenas in the laboratory, we tested whether the use of crevices, micro-spatial distribution and activity are modified by the density of conspecifics and the presence of heterospecifics. Our results show that small-scale spatial segregation observed in the field between S. lessoni and C. granosus result from species-specific differences in habitat use. In turn, we found evidence that spatial segregation between F. crassa and S. lessoni results from highly asymmetric interference competition in the use of shelters. The presence of F. crassa reduced the use of crevices and growth rates of S. lessoni. Effects on growth rates are assumed to result from exposure to harsh environmental conditions rather than food limitation. Thus, neither gregarious behaviour nor differences in activity were sufficient to prevent competition with the larger grazer. Our study illustrates the importance of competition for shelters, which results in behavioural changes of the smaller-sized species, and how these plastic responses can translate into differences in growth rates. Use of shelters can thus be modulated by environmental conditions in a species-specific as well as an interactive manner within consumers' guilds.

Dataset Information

Climate-related environmental stress in intertidal grazers: scaling-up biochemical responses to assemblage-level processes.

Background

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Climate-related environmental stress in intertidal grazers: scaling-up biochemical responses to assemblage-level processes.

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