Ocean warming reduces gastropod survival despite maintenance of feeding and oxygen consumption rates

Short-term, sublethal response variables are increasingly used to provide rapid indications of whole organism responses to future climate conditions. Accumulating evidence suggests, however, that these response variables may not consistently reflect whole organism responses which manifest over longer time scales. Here, we consider the effect of moderate warming on longer-term whole organism fitness, as reflected by survival, as well as two shorter-term response variables, feeding rate and oxygen consumption, for two tropical gastropod species. We found a significant reduction in survival under warming, despite no significant effect of warming on feeding or oxygen consumption rates. This result demonstrates that the maintenance of physiological rates alone is not sufficient to sustain organism survival under elevated temperatures; rather an increase in physiological process rates is likely required. Consequently, isolated short-term physiological processes may not adequately reflect longer-term whole organism responses to altered climate. For improved understanding, both short- and long-term responses need to be considered.

Automated summary

The study found that moderate warming significantly reduces survival for two tropical gastropod species, while not affecting feeding rate and oxygen consumption. This suggests that maintaining physiological rates alone is not enough to sustain organism survival under elevated temperatures.