2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

<< BACK TO AGENDA

5/22/2018  |   9:45 AM - 10:00 AM   |  THERMAL ADAPTATION ALTERS THE ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF CONSUMER BODY SIZE   |  410 A

THERMAL ADAPTATION ALTERS THE ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF CONSUMER BODY SIZE

Body size is a key factor that determines the ecological role of consumers. Body size is expected to decline with climate change. Does this mean that the ecological effects of consumer species will change in the future as body size distributions shift towards smaller individuals? The answer to this question depends on the extent to which ongoing thermal adaptation will alter the relationship between body size and ecological role. We addressed this issue by examining populations of fish which recently invaded geothermal systems of differing temperatures. We conducted a mesocosm experiment in which we manipulated source population and fish body size distribution while holding biomass steady. We measured a suite of ecological response variables ranging from zooplankton community composition to greenhouse gas emissions. Ecological responses to different body size distributions varied considerably among parameters, with some unresponsive to body size change, some showing similar response to size in both populations, and some showing highly divergent response to body size change between populations. Our results suggest that thermal adaptation can alter the ecological outcome of future body size declines.

  • Functional Ecology
  • Climate Change
  • Fish

Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

Handouts:
Handout is not Available

Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference


Presenters/Authors

Kevin Simon (), The University of Auckland, k.simon@auckland.ac.nz;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -

Emma Moffett (), The University of Auckland, emma.moffett@auckland.ac.nz;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -

David Fryxell (), University of California - Santa Cruz, dcfryxell@gmail.com;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -

Eric Palkovacs (), University of California - Santa Cruz, epalkova@ucsc.edu;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -