Zeh Jeanne A, Bonilla Melvin M, Su Eleanor J, Padua Michael V, Anderson Rachel V, Zeh David W
Department of Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV 89557.
Sci Rep. 2014 Jan 15;4:3706. doi: 10.1038/srep03706.
Recent theory suggests that global warming may be catastrophic for tropical ectotherms. Although most studies addressing temperature effects in ectotherms utilize constant temperatures, Jensen's inequality and thermal stress considerations predict that this approach will underestimate warming effects on species experiencing daily temperature fluctuations in nature. Here, we tested this prediction in a neotropical pseudoscorpion. Nymphs were reared in control and high-temperature treatments under a constant daily temperature regime, and results compared to a companion fluctuating-temperature study. At constant temperature, pseudoscorpions outperformed their fluctuating-temperature counterparts. Individuals were larger, developed faster, and males produced more sperm, and females more embryos. The greatest impact of temperature regime involved short-term, adult exposure, with constant temperature mitigating high-temperature effects on reproductive traits. Our findings demonstrate the importance of realistic temperature regimes in climate warming studies, and suggest that exploitation of microhabitats that dampen temperature oscillations may be critical in avoiding extinction as tropical climates warm.
近期理论表明，全球变暖可能对热带变温动物造成灾难性影响。尽管大多数研究变温动物温度效应的实验采用的是恒温条件，但根据詹森不等式和热应激因素推测，这种方法会低估自然界中经历每日温度波动的物种所受的变暖影响。在此，我们在一种新热带拟蝎中对这一推测进行了验证。若虫在恒定日温条件下的对照和高温处理组中饲养，其结果与一项配套的变温研究进行比较。在恒温条件下，拟蝎的表现优于变温条件下的同类。个体更大，发育更快，雄性产生的精子更多，雌性孕育的胚胎更多。温度条件的最大影响涉及成虫短期暴露，恒温可减轻高温对生殖性状的影响。我们的研究结果证明了在气候变暖研究中采用现实温度条件的重要性，并表明在热带气候变暖的情况下，利用能缓冲温度振荡的微生境对于避免物种灭绝可能至关重要。
