Ocean weather, biological rates, and unexplained global ecological patterns

As on land, oceans exhibit high temporal and spatial temperature variation. This "ocean weather" contributes to the physiological and ecological processes that ultimately determine the patterns of species distribution and abundance, yet is often unrecognized, especially in tropical oceans. Here, we tested the paradigm of temperature stability in shallow waters (<12.5 m) across different zones of latitude. We collated hundreds of in situ, high temporal-frequency ocean temperature time series globally to produce an intuitive measure of temperature variability, ranging in scale from quarter-diurnal to annual time spans. To estimate organismal sensitivity of ectotherms (i.e. microbes, algae, and animals whose body temperatures depend upon ocean temperature), we computed the corresponding range of biological rates (such as metabolic rate or photosynthesis) for each time span, assuming an exponential relationship. We found that subtropical regions had the broadest temperature ranges at time spans equal to or shorter than a month, while temperate and tropical systems both exhibited narrow (i.e. stable) short-term temperature range estimates. However, temperature-dependent biological rates in tropical regions displayed greater ranges than in temperate systems. Hence, our results suggest that tropical ectotherms may be relatively more sensitive to short-term thermal variability. We also highlight previously unexplained macroecological patterns that may be underpinned by short-term temperature variability.

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Publication Details

Journal
PNAS Nexus
Published
2024-08-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae260
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.40

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article

Ocean weather, biological rates, and unexplained global ecological patterns

Jackson W. F. Chu, David J. Kushner, Nicholas D. Higgs, Murray I. Duncan et al.
5 citations
PNAS Nexus
Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
2.40
article

Ocean weather, biological rates, and unexplained global ecological patterns

Jackson W. F. Chu, David J. Kushner, Nicholas D. Higgs, Murray I. Duncan, Diego K. Kersting, Joshua S. Madin, Eric V. C. Schneider, John F. Bruno, Patrick Gagnon, Ana M. Queirós, María Dornelas, Brian S. T. Helmuth, Tim Smyth, Dorian Guillemain, Nathaniel Bensoussan, Jennifer M. Jackson, Zachary L. Monteith, Marion Peirache, Viviana Brambilla, Christopher J. Neufeld, Tamar Guy‐Haim, Samuel Starko, Sarah W. Davies, Frédéric Zuberer, James J. Leichter, Hannah E. Aichelman, Brendan S. Talwar, Nicholas L. Payne, Yun‐Wei Dong, Alex S. J. Wyatt, Joaquim Garrabou, Guilherme Ortigara Longo, Jasmin M. Schuster, Amanda E. Bates, Francis Choi, Darren L C Y Li Shing Hiung, Carlo Caruso, Julia K. Baum, Gaëlle Urvoy, Karl D. Castillo, Joshua Sprague, Yuwu Jiang
article en
5 citations

Abstract

As on land, oceans exhibit high temporal and spatial temperature variation. This "ocean weather" contributes to the physiological and ecological processes that ultimately determine the patterns of species distribution and abundance, yet is often unrecognized, especially in tropical oceans. Here, we tested the paradigm of temperature stability in shallow waters (<12.5 m) across different zones of latitude. We collated hundreds of in situ, high temporal-frequency ocean temperature time series globally to produce an intuitive measure of temperature variability, ranging in scale from quarter-diurnal to annual time spans. To estimate organismal sensitivity of ectotherms (i.e. microbes, algae, and animals whose body temperatures depend upon ocean temperature), we computed the corresponding range of biological rates (such as metabolic rate or photosynthesis) for each time span, assuming an exponential relationship. We found that subtropical regions had the broadest temperature ranges at time spans equal to or shorter than a month, while temperate and tropical systems both exhibited narrow (i.e. stable) short-term temperature range estimates. However, temperature-dependent biological rates in tropical regions displayed greater ranges than in temperate systems. Hence, our results suggest that tropical ectotherms may be relatively more sensitive to short-term thermal variability. We also highlight previously unexplained macroecological patterns that may be underpinned by short-term temperature variability.

PNAS NexusVol. 3(8)
Boston University (US), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US), Northeastern University (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Tasmania (AU), Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (CA), Cape Eleuthera Institute (BS), University of Lisbon (PT), University of British Columbia (CA), Université de Toulon (FR), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US), Université de Perpignan (FR), École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR), University of St Andrews (GB), The University of Western Australia (AU), Xiamen University (CN), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK), Rhodes University (ZA), Trinity College Dublin (IE), University of Victoria (CA), Aix-Marseille Université (FR), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR), Plymouth Marine Laboratory (GB), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR), University of California San Diego (US), Tula Foundation (CA), Instituto de Acuicultura Torre de la Sal (ES), Institut Català de Ciències del Clima (ES), Institut de Ciències del Mar (ES), Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IL), Institut Méditerranéen d’Océanologie (FR), University of Seychelles (SC), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Hakai Institute, Ocean University of China (CN), Okanagan University College (CA), University of Hong Kong (HK)
National Science Foundation, North Carolina State University, Sight Research UK, Canada Research Chairs, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, University of California, Davis, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Natural Environment Research Council, Division of Ocean Sciences, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
2.40
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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