Differences in heat tolerance plasticity between supratidal and intertidal snails indicate complex responses to...

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Ecology
• Physiology

Background:

• Tropical intertidal gastropods face extreme temperature fluctuations.
• Previous research indicated habitat-specific heat tolerance plasticity in these snails.
• Heat tolerance plasticity is crucial for survival in variable thermal environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate heat tolerance plasticity at a finer spatial scale within the intertidal zone.
• To compare thermal responses of supratidal and intertidal populations of Echinolittorina malaccana.
• To understand the role of microhabitat temperature in shaping gastropod heat tolerance.

Main Methods:

• Collected Echinolittorina malaccana from supratidal and intertidal zones.
• Acclimated snails to warm and cool laboratory conditions.
• Measured lethal temperature 50 (LT50) to assess heat tolerance plasticity.

Main Results:

• Supratidal snails exhibited greater variation in LT50 than intertidal snails.
• Both populations reached similar maximum LT50s under warm acclimation.
• Minimum LT50s after cool acclimation reflected microhabitat temperatures and field acclimatization.

Conclusions:

• Heat tolerance plasticity in E. malaccana operates at microhabitat scales.
• Long-term or lifelong acclimatization likely contributes to population-specific thermal tolerance.
• Microhabitat thermal dynamics are critical for predicting species responses to climate change.