Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Coghlan, Amy Rose
• Blanchard, Julia L.
• Wotherspoon, Simon
• Stuart‐Smith, Rick D.
• Edgar, Graham J.
• Barrett, Neville
• Audzijonyte, Asta

Titel

Mean reef fish body size decreases towards warmer waters

Ist Teil von

• Ecology letters, 2024-02, Vol.27 (2), p.e14375-n/a

Ort / Verlag

England: Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Wiley-Blackwell Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Aquatic ectotherms often attain smaller body sizes at higher temperatures. By analysing ~15,000 coastal‐reef fish surveys across a 15°C spatial sea surface temperature (SST) gradient, we found that the mean length of fish in communities decreased by ~5% for each 1°C temperature increase across space, or 50% decrease in mean length from 14 to 29°C mean annual SST. Community mean body size change was driven by differential temperature responses within trophic groups and temperature‐driven change in their relative abundance. Herbivores, invertivores and planktivores became smaller on average in warmer temperatures, but no trend was found in piscivores. Nearly 25% of the temperature‐related community mean size trend was attributable to trophic composition at the warmest sites, but at colder temperatures, this was <1% due to trophic groups being similarly sized. Our findings suggest that small changes in temperature are associated with large changes in fish community composition and body sizes, with important ecological implications. By analysing ~15,000 coastal‐reef fish underwater visual surveys around Australian continent, we found that the mean length of fish length in communities decreases by ~5% for each 1°C temperature increase across space. This equates to a 50% decrease in the average community level fish length along the observed temperature gradient, with trends differing between trophic groups. Our findings suggest that small changes in temperature will lead to large changes in fish community body sizes, driven both by community trophic composition in warm waters and mean sizes within trophic guilds.