Staying cool: the importance of shade availability for tropical ectotherms

Understanding how organisms mitigate the impacts of climate warming is one of the biggest challenges facing modern-day biologists. For tropical ectotherms, staying cool is critical for avoiding thermal stress, so individuals that are able to maintain territories in cool microhabitats are likely to g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2019-08, Vol.73 (8), p.1-12, Article 106
Main Authors: Chou, C.-C., Perez, D. M., Johns, S., Gardner, R., Kerr, K. A., Head, M. L., McCullough, E. L., Backwell, P. R. Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Ecology
Animal reproduction
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climate change
Crustaceans
Exposure
Feeding
Fitness
Global warming
Habitats
Life Sciences
Males
Microhabitats
Organisms
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Refugia
Shade
Sun
Thermal stress
Zoology
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Summary:Understanding how organisms mitigate the impacts of climate warming is one of the biggest challenges facing modern-day biologists. For tropical ectotherms, staying cool is critical for avoiding thermal stress, so individuals that are able to maintain territories in cool microhabitats are likely to gain fitness advantages. This study evaluated the importance of shade availability in the tropical fiddler crab, Austruca mjoebergi, by investigating temperature variation and behavioral responses (distribution, activity level, and time budget) in sun-exposed and shaded microhabitats. We found that the daily temperatures in sun-exposed microhabitats were significantly higher than in shady microhabitats, and that more male crabs held territories in the shade. Shaded males were active on the sediment surface for longer periods each day, allowing more time for feeding and more opportunities to detect mate-searching females. The greater number of males resident in the shade, and shorter distances between male neighbors in the shade, suggested that there was less available space for individuals to move into the shaded microhabitats. The behavioral differences between sun- and shade-living residents are likely to have consequences for male fitness. We highlight the importance of shade in providing thermal refugia for tropical ectotherms.
ISSN:0340-5443
1432-0762
DOI:10.1007/s00265-019-2721-9