Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
07:46
Temperature Response of Soil Organic Matter Decomposition Rates: Construction and Applications of a Temperature Gradient Block
Published on: January 30, 2026
Growth and development rates have different thermal responses.
Jack Forster1, Andrew G Hirst, Guy Woodward
1School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom.
The American Naturalist
|October 28, 2011
Summary
Marine copepod growth and development rates show different temperature dependencies, contrary to common assumptions. Understanding these distinct thermal responses is crucial for predicting organism size changes in a warming climate.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Ecology
- Physiology
Background:
- Organismal growth and development rates are fundamental biological processes.
- Increasing global temperatures necessitate understanding their impact on these rates.
- The temperature-size rule suggests decoupled growth and development, but this needs systematic testing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temperature dependence of growth and development rates in marine pelagic copepods.
- To determine if growth and development rates share the same temperature sensitivity.
- To predict changes in organism mass under varying temperatures.
Main Methods:
- Compiled and analyzed literature data on marine pelagic copepod growth and development rates.
- Employed an information-theoretic approach to identify the best-fit models for thermal responses.
- Utilized best-fit models to predict organism mass changes in response to temperature.
Main Results:
- Development rates exhibit a stronger temperature dependence than growth rates across all life stages.
- Growth and development rates are not coupled and have significantly different temperature dependencies.
- Predicted organism mass changes in response to temperature follow a concave relationship.
Conclusions:
- It is incorrect to assume that growth and development rates have the same temperature dependence.
- The distinct thermal responses have significant implications for individual species and ecosystems.
- Modeling the impacts of climate change on species body size is complicated by these findings.
Related Concept Videos
02:55Temperature Dependence on Reaction Rate
The Collision Theory
Atoms, molecules, or ions must collide before they can react with each other. Atoms must be close together to form chemical bonds. This premise is the basis for a theory that explains many observations regarding chemical kinetics, including factors affecting reaction rates.
The collision theory is based on the postulates that (i) the reaction rate is proportional to the rate of reactant collisions, (ii) the reacting species collide in an orientation allowing contact between...
Atoms, molecules, or ions must collide before they can react with each other. Atoms must be close together to form chemical bonds. This premise is the basis for a theory that explains many observations regarding chemical kinetics, including factors affecting reaction rates.
The collision theory is based on the postulates that (i) the reaction rate is proportional to the rate of reactant collisions, (ii) the reacting species collide in an orientation allowing contact between...
01:26Derivatives: Problem Solving
Temperature-Dependent Growth of Brook TroutThe growth of brook trout is closely influenced by water temperature. Experimental data demonstrate how trout weight changes over a 24-day period in response to varying water temperatures. At lower temperatures, such as 15.5 degrees Celsius, brook trout show significant weight gain. However, as the temperature increases, the amount of weight gained steadily decreases. At the highest temperature measured, 24.4 degrees Celsius, trout experience a net...
01:22Thermal Expansion
The expansion of alcohol in a thermometer is one of many commonly encountered examples of thermal expansion, which is the change in size or volume of a given system as its temperature changes. The most visible example is the expansion of hot air. When air is heated, it expands and becomes less dense than the surrounding air, which then exerts an upward force on the hot air to, for example, make steam and smoke rise, and hot air balloons float. The same behavior happens in all liquids and gases,...
01:19Thermal Strain
Thermal strain is a concept that arises when we consider how temperature changes affect structures. Unlike the conventional assumption that structures remain constant under load, real-world scenarios often involve temperature fluctuations that can significantly impact these structures. Consider a homogeneous rod with a uniform cross-section resting freely on a flat horizontal surface. If the rod's temperature increases, the rod elongates. This elongation is proportional to the temperature...
02:45Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
02:28Effect of Temperature Change on Reaction Rate
The Arrhenius equation,