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First published online April 17, 2009
Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 1371-1376 (2009)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2009
doi: 10.1242/jeb.030205

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Thermal tolerance of crustacean larvae (zoea I) in two different populations of the kelp crab Taliepus dentatus (Milne-Edwards)

Daniela Storch^1,2,*, Pedro Santelices¹, Jessica Barria¹, Karla Cabeza¹, Hans-Otto Pörtner² and Miriam Fernández¹

¹ Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas and Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity, Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, Santiago, Chile
² Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Marine Animal Physiology, Postfach 120161, D-27515 Bremerhaven, Germany

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: Daniela.Storch{at}awi.de)

Accepted 6 February 2009

Studies of thermal tolerance in marine ectotherms are key in understanding climate effects on ecosystems; however, tolerance of their larval stages has rarely been analyzed. Larval stages are expected to be particularly sensitive. Thermal stress may affect their potential for dispersal and zoogeographical distribution. A mismatch between oxygen demand and the limited capacity of oxygen supply to tissues has been hypothesized to be the first mechanism restricting survival at thermal extremes. Therefore, thermal tolerance of stage zoea I larvae was examined in two populations of the Chilean kelp crab Taliepus dentatus, which are separated by latitude and the thermal regime. We measured temperature-dependent activity, oxygen consumption, cardiac performance, body mass and the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) composition in order to: (1) examine thermal effects from organismal to cellular levels, and (2) compare the thermal tolerance of larvae from two environmental temperature regimes. We found that larval performance is affected at thermal extremes indicated by decreases in activity, mainly in maxilliped beat rates, followed by decreases in oxygen consumption rates. Cardiac stroke volume was almost temperature-independent. Through changes in heart rate, cardiac output supported oxygen demand within the thermal window whereas at low and high temperature extremes heart rate declined. The comparison between southern and central populations suggests the adaptation of southern larvae to a colder temperature regime, with higher cardiac outputs due to increased cardiac stroke volumes, larger body sizes but similar body composition as indicated by similar C:N ratios. This limited but clear differentiation of thermal windows between populations allows the species to widen its biogeographical range.

Key words: oxygen consumption, heart rate, swimming, mass, C:N ratio, zoea I, Taliepus dentatus, larvae, thermal tolerance, temperature

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