Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes
Projected increases in global temperatures brought on by climate change threaten to disrupt many biological and ecological processes. Tropical ectotherms, like many fishes, can be particularly susceptible to temperature change as they occupy environments with narrow thermal fluctuations. While clima...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2019-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/7320.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797424038650314752 |
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| author | Donald T. Warren Mark I. McCormick |
| author_facet | Donald T. Warren Mark I. McCormick |
| author_sort | Donald T. Warren |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Projected increases in global temperatures brought on by climate change threaten to disrupt many biological and ecological processes. Tropical ectotherms, like many fishes, can be particularly susceptible to temperature change as they occupy environments with narrow thermal fluctuations. While climate change models predict temperatures to increase over decades, thermal fluctuations are already experienced on a seasonal scale, which may affect the ability to capture and defend resources across a thermal gradient. For coral reef fish, losers of competitive interactions are often more vulnerable to predation, and this pressure is strongest just after settlement. Competitive interactions may determine future success for coral reef fishes, and understanding how temperature experienced during settlement can influence such interactions will give insight to community dynamics in a future warmer world. We tested the effect of increased temperatures on intraspecific competitive interactions of two sympatric species of reef damselfish, the blue damselfish Pomacentrus nagasakiensis, and the whitetail damselfish Pomacentrus chrysurus. Juvenile fishes were exposed to one of four temperature treatments, ranging from 26–32 °C, for seven days then placed into competitive arenas where aggressive interactions were recorded between sized matched individuals within each species. While there was no apparent effect of temperature treatment on aggressive behaviour for P. chrysurus, we observed up to a four-fold increase in aggression scores for P. nagasakiensis with increasing temperature. Results suggest that temperature experienced as juveniles can impact aggressive behaviour; however, species-specific thermal tolerances led to behavioural affects that differ among closely related species. Differential thermal tolerance among species may cause restructuring of the interaction network that underlies the structure of reef assemblages. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:56:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4b61abe64183430b8637ba727cb00dd4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:56:31Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-4b61abe64183430b8637ba727cb00dd42023-12-03T00:59:41ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-07-017e732010.7717/peerj.7320Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishesDonald T. Warren0Mark I. McCormick1College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, AustraliaCollege of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, AustraliaProjected increases in global temperatures brought on by climate change threaten to disrupt many biological and ecological processes. Tropical ectotherms, like many fishes, can be particularly susceptible to temperature change as they occupy environments with narrow thermal fluctuations. While climate change models predict temperatures to increase over decades, thermal fluctuations are already experienced on a seasonal scale, which may affect the ability to capture and defend resources across a thermal gradient. For coral reef fish, losers of competitive interactions are often more vulnerable to predation, and this pressure is strongest just after settlement. Competitive interactions may determine future success for coral reef fishes, and understanding how temperature experienced during settlement can influence such interactions will give insight to community dynamics in a future warmer world. We tested the effect of increased temperatures on intraspecific competitive interactions of two sympatric species of reef damselfish, the blue damselfish Pomacentrus nagasakiensis, and the whitetail damselfish Pomacentrus chrysurus. Juvenile fishes were exposed to one of four temperature treatments, ranging from 26–32 °C, for seven days then placed into competitive arenas where aggressive interactions were recorded between sized matched individuals within each species. While there was no apparent effect of temperature treatment on aggressive behaviour for P. chrysurus, we observed up to a four-fold increase in aggression scores for P. nagasakiensis with increasing temperature. Results suggest that temperature experienced as juveniles can impact aggressive behaviour; however, species-specific thermal tolerances led to behavioural affects that differ among closely related species. Differential thermal tolerance among species may cause restructuring of the interaction network that underlies the structure of reef assemblages.https://peerj.com/articles/7320.pdfClimate changeCompetitionTemperatureThermal plasticityCoral reef fish |
| spellingShingle | Donald T. Warren Mark I. McCormick Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes PeerJ Climate change Competition Temperature Thermal plasticity Coral reef fish |
| title | Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes |
| title_full | Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes |
| title_fullStr | Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes |
| title_short | Intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes |
| title_sort | intrageneric differences in the effects of acute temperature exposure on competitive behaviour of damselfishes |
| topic | Climate change Competition Temperature Thermal plasticity Coral reef fish |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/7320.pdf |
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