Tue, Aug 16, 2022: 4:30 PM-4:45 PM
513A
Background/Question/MethodsTemperature influences population distribution, body size, metabolism, making it a driving ecological and evolutionary factor. Due to climate change, global temperatures are rising. For example, sea surface temperatures are expected to increase by 1.8-3.5 °C by the end of the century and extreme climate events are predicted to become more intense and frequent in the future. My research seeks to understand how thermal seasonal changes can influence the behavior and physiology of Porcelain crabs living in the thermally dynamic intertidal zone. This project encompasses two research objectives to investigate the relationship between seasonal thermal variation, microclimate variation, thermal behavior, and body condition. Temperature data loggers were deployed under rocks to record intertidal zone thermal microhabitat. I assessed how temperature avoidance behaviors (escape temperatures) vary across fine-scale seasonal thermal variation and body condition using a behavioral assay and video analysis. I investigated relationships between regional weather data and under-rock temperature to generate the ability to make predictive inferences of crab thermal avoidance and temperature fluctuations in the intertidal zone. I hypothesized that thermal avoidance varies across long-term seasonal thermal variation and during extreme heat events, that thermal avoidance is related to body condition.
Results/ConclusionsMy current results show that escape temperature did not vary significantly across different seasons (P = 0.549). This shows a lack in thermal avoidance behavior acclimation during long-term thermal changes. However, escape temperature was shown to increase as maximum habitat temperatures increases 4 days prior to conducting behavioral trials (P = 0.01786). This supports my hypothesis that escape temperatures increase during heating events. Body condition was shown to have no significant influence on escape temperature (P = 1.00) When considering body conditions all individuals will be affected equally by rising thermal pressures. However, when observing the impact physical injuries have on escape temperature, we do see a significant effect. We see that individuals’ missing legs have significantly higher escape temperatures than individuals lacking injuries or missing a claw. Overall, my research will contribute to the knowledge and understanding of how marine invertebrates are affected by climate change, and the physiological limits constraining their ability to adapt to changing ocean temperatures.
Results/ConclusionsMy current results show that escape temperature did not vary significantly across different seasons (P = 0.549). This shows a lack in thermal avoidance behavior acclimation during long-term thermal changes. However, escape temperature was shown to increase as maximum habitat temperatures increases 4 days prior to conducting behavioral trials (P = 0.01786). This supports my hypothesis that escape temperatures increase during heating events. Body condition was shown to have no significant influence on escape temperature (P = 1.00) When considering body conditions all individuals will be affected equally by rising thermal pressures. However, when observing the impact physical injuries have on escape temperature, we do see a significant effect. We see that individuals’ missing legs have significantly higher escape temperatures than individuals lacking injuries or missing a claw. Overall, my research will contribute to the knowledge and understanding of how marine invertebrates are affected by climate change, and the physiological limits constraining their ability to adapt to changing ocean temperatures.