Bodega Marine Laboratory, 2099 Westshore Road, Bodega Bay, California, 94923, USA.
Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California, 95616, USA.
Ecology. 2017 Sep;98(9):2468-2478. doi: 10.1002/ecy.1943. Epub 2017 Aug 22.
The effects of climate-driven stressors on organismal performance and ecosystem functioning have been investigated across many systems; however, manipulative experiments generally apply stressors as constant and simultaneous treatments, rather than accurately reflecting temporal patterns in the natural environment. Here, we assessed the effects of temporal patterns of high aerial temperature and low salinity on survival of Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida), a foundation species of conservation and restoration concern. As single stressors, low salinity (5 and 10 psu) and the highest air temperature (40°C) resulted in oyster mortality of 55.8, 11.3, and 23.5%, respectively. When applied on the same day, low salinity and high air temperature had synergistic negative effects that increased oyster mortality. This was true even for stressor levels that were relatively mild when applied alone (10 psu and 35°C). However, recovery times of two or four weeks between stressors eliminated the synergistic effects. Given that most natural systems threatened by climate change are subject to multiple stressors that vary in the timing of their occurrence, our results suggest that it is important to examine temporal variation of stressors in order to more accurately understand the possible biological responses to global change.
气候驱动的压力源对生物表现和生态系统功能的影响已经在许多系统中进行了研究；然而，操纵实验通常将压力源作为恒定和同时的处理方式，而不是准确反映自然环境中的时间模式。在这里，我们评估了高空中温度和低盐度的时间模式对保护和恢复关注的基础物种奥林匹亚牡蛎（Ostrea lurida）生存的影响。作为单一压力源，低盐度（5 和 10 psu）和最高空气温度（40°C）分别导致牡蛎死亡率为 55.8%、11.3%和 23.5%。当同一天施加时，低盐度和高空气温度具有协同的负面影响，增加了牡蛎的死亡率。即使在单独应用时相对温和的压力水平（10 psu 和 35°C）也是如此。然而，在压力源之间恢复两周或四周的时间可以消除协同效应。鉴于大多数受到气候变化威胁的自然系统都受到多种压力源的影响，这些压力源的发生时间不同，因此我们的研究结果表明，研究压力源的时间变化对于更准确地了解全球变化可能对生物产生的影响非常重要。
