Effects of temperature change on mussel,Mytilus

Abstract

An increasing body of research has demonstrated the often idiosyncratic responses of organisms to climate-related factors, such as increases in air, sea and land surface temperatures, especially when coupled with non-climatic stressors. This argues that sweeping generalizations about the likely impacts of climate change on organisms and ecosystems are likely less valuable than process-based explorations that focus on key species and ecosystems. Mussels in the genus Mytilus have been studied for centuries, and much is known of their physiology and ecology. Like other intertidal organisms, these animals may serve as early indicators of climate change impacts. As structuring species, their survival has cascading impacts on many other species, making them ecologically important, in addition to their economic value as a food source. Here, we briefly review the categories of information available on the effects of temperature change on mussels within this genus. Although a considerable body of information exists about the genus in general, knowledge gaps still exist, specifically in our ability to predict how specific populations are likely to respond to the effects of multiple stressors, both climate and non-climate related, and how these changes are likely to result in ecosystem-level responses. Whereas this genus provides an excellent model for exploring the effects of climate change on natural and human-managed ecosystems, much work remains if we are to make predictions of likely impacts of environmental change on scales that are relevant to climate adaptation.

Past, Present, and Future: Performance of Two Bivalve Species Under Changing Environmental Conditions

“…Globally, the production of bivalves has been steadily increasing over the past several decades and is expected to continue to do so (FAO, 2016). Considered ecosystem engineers as well as keystone species (Gutiérrez et al, 2003;Zippay and Helmuth, 2012;Han et al, 2017;Sorte et al, 2017), bivalves interact with their environment through both top-down and bottom-up processes (e.g., Coen et al, 2007;Rice, 2008). Top-down control via filter-feeding may significantly curtail phytoplankton populations (Cranford et al, 2003;Newell, 2004;Forsberg et al, 2017) potentially affecting bivalve performance itself (Dame and Prins, 1998;Bacher et al, 2003;Strohmeier et al, 2005), but also impacting other filter-feeders and grazers (Kluger et al, 2017).…”

“…Temperature plays an important role in physiology, gene expression, distribution, and fitness of bivalves (Zippay and Helmuth, 2012;Shelmerdine et al, 2017). The internal body temperature of bivalves usually matches external water temperatures, except when intertidal species are subject to aerial exposure (Zippay and Helmuth, 2012).…”

“…Temperature plays an important role in physiology, gene expression, distribution, and fitness of bivalves (Zippay and Helmuth, 2012;Shelmerdine et al, 2017). The internal body temperature of bivalves usually matches external water temperatures, except when intertidal species are subject to aerial exposure (Zippay and Helmuth, 2012). Although the effect of temperature on physiology is species-specific, generally as temperature increases, physiological rates will increase until a threshold is met, at which point performance will decline (Kooijman, 2010).…”

“…Although the effect of temperature on physiology is species-specific, generally as temperature increases, physiological rates will increase until a threshold is met, at which point performance will decline (Kooijman, 2010). Due to this relationship between physiological functions (e.g., filtration rates and oxygen consumption), shortterm changes (days/weeks) in temperature will predictably impact their survival (e.g., Malham et al, 2009;Rinde et al, 2016) and long-term changes (years) will impact their reproductive timing and effort, and consequently their spatial distribution (Bayne et al, 1976;Philippart et al, 2003;Kittner and Riisgård, 2005;Toupoint et al, 2012;Zippay and Helmuth, 2012;Filgueira et al, 2014). Accordingly, the relationship between temperature and physiology of bivalves is particularly relevant within the context of climate change.…”

“…Although temperature will not be the only change to impact bivalves, it has been shown to be the most deterministic factor influencing shellfish growth and distribution, and is one of the most widely studied abiotic factors related to climate change (Zippay and Helmuth, 2012;Rodrigues et al, 2015;Buckley and Huey, 2016;Filgueira et al, 2016). Warming oceans are modifying current natural ranges of many marine species (e.g., Diederich et al, 2005;Jones et al, 2009Jones et al, , 2010Rinde et al, 2016;Shelmerdine et al, 2017).…”