Implications of Warming on the Morphometric and Reproductive Traits of the Green Crab, Carcinus maenas

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between environmental temperature and the biological traits of organisms is fundamental to inferring the potential impacts of climate change. In the case of marine poikilotherm species, seawater temperature is one of the main driving forces of biological processes, with consequences at higher levels of organization such as population and ecosystem. In this study, we analysed differences in maximum carapace width (CWmax), size at maturation, relative size at maturation, and duration of the reproductive season for the green crab (Carcinus maenas) along a temperature gradient. An extensive review of bibliographic data was performed on studies published between 1962 and 2020, gathering C. maenas data from 55 different populations, spread over 20 degrees of latitude and 14.2 °C of sea surface temperature (SST). In addition, green crab data were collected at five different lagoons and estuaries along the continental Portuguese coast. The relationship between average SST and CWmax, age of maturation, reduction of size at maturation, and duration of egg bearing was analysed to understand the role of SST in driving variation in these C. maenas characteristics across a latitudinal gradient. There was a significant relationship between SST and CWmax for males and SST and CW of females at maturation, respectively. The results extrapolate for each local projected temperature increase caused by climate change and suggest an effect on the morphometric and reproductive traits of C. maenas across regions. These changes comprise an overall reduction in C. maenas body size, an enlargement of the reproductive season, a shortening in the duration of larval developmental time, and a decrease in the relative size of crabs at maturation. Secondary consequences on the fecundity and connectivity of populations are discussed.