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Effects of temperature on the performance of a freshwater amphipod

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Abstract

Temperature drives the metabolism of ectothermic organisms and impacts ecosystem functioning. Anthropogenic activities have been changing historical temperatures of freshwater ecosystems with a wide range of consequences for ecosystem processes such as leaf litter decomposition. Here we explored temperature effects on the performance of the amphipod Gammarus pseudolimnaeus, a dominant detritivore in its range. We first measured oxygen consumption under six temperatures and fitted a thermal performance curve which yielded an optimal range between 24 and 26°C. We then measured several organismal traits at four temperatures leading up to the determined optimal range. We quantified leaf litter mass loss (through feeding), somatic growth and survival under starvation at 7, 11, 17 and 23°C. Leaf litter loss was significantly lower only at the lowest temperature, with no detected differences among other treatments. Somatic growth rates increased with increasing temperature within the tested range. Organisms at warmer temperatures tended to die of starvation faster in comparison to those at colder temperatures. Our results suggest that warming may enhance leaf litter loss in certain parts of the year, but that warming could intensify organism mortality under starvation and compromise local population persistence.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Patrick Nitchals for his dedication to the model organism, Janna Vavra, Sadie Fisher and Anwesha Dey for their help with experimental work, and John DeLong for the use of the oxygen transmitter. Nika Galic was supported by the Program of Excellence in Population Biology of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We gratefully acknowledge Verónica Ferreira and several anonymous reviewers whose generous comments improved this manuscript.

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  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Manter Hall 402, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0118, USA

    Nika Galic

  2. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Nika Galic & Valery E. Forbes

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  1. Nika Galic
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Correspondence to Nika Galic.

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Handling editor: Verónica Jacinta Lopes Ferreira

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Galic, N., Forbes, V.E. Effects of temperature on the performance of a freshwater amphipod. Hydrobiologia 785, 35–46 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2901-9

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