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.
Mussel Heat Tolerance Affected by Temperature Dynamics
University of Washington
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