Meeting Abstract
As climate continues to change, many marine species will experience both an increase in average temperature and more extreme diel and seasonal fluctuations. Understanding how these variations in ocean temperature affect processes such as metabolism and energy consumption is important for many species, and particularly so for sedentary species that cannot make large-scale movements in response to changes in environmental conditions. We examined how metabolic rates and energetic demands responded to temperature in a temperate reef fish, the bluebanded goby (Lythrypnus dalli). Using respirometry, we estimated resting oxygen consumption (VO2) and calculated metabolic rates (MR) at three different temperatures (13°C, 16°C, and 20°C) for 42 L. dalli individuals of varying sizes. As predicted, VO2 and MR increased significantly with temperature and mass, but the rate of temperature-dependent increase in metabolism indicated a very high degree of thermal sensitivity for L. dalli (Q10 value for VO2 was 5.56 across the range of experimental temperatures). The mass-scaling coefficient (b) was estimated to be 1.01 and aligned closely with other benthic species. Thermal fluctuations likely play a significant role in the ecology of these gobies and continued increases in seawater temperature will either necessitate an increase in foraging and consumption or drive costly trade-offs between metabolism and processes such as growth and reproduction.
