Effects of long-term elevated temperature on covering, sheltering and righting behaviors of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius

PeerJ

article

Lisheng Zhang¹  Lingling Zhang¹  Dongtao Shi¹  Jing Wei¹  Yaqing Chang¹  Chong Zhao¹ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Mariculture & Stock Enhancement in North China’s Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Dalian Ocean University

关键词: Sea urchin;    Strongylocentrotus intermedius;    Ocean warming;    Behavior;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.3122

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Increases in ocean temperature due to climate change are predicted to change the behaviors of marine invertebrates. Altered behaviors of keystone ecosystem engineers such as echinoderms will have consequences for the fitness of individuals, which are expected to flow on to the local ecosystem. Relatively few studies have investigated the behavioral responses of echinoderms to long-term elevated temperature. We investigated the effects of exposure to long-term (∼31 weeks) elevated temperature (∼3 °C above the ambient water temperature) on covering, sheltering and righting behaviors of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius. Long-term elevated temperature showed different effects on the three behaviors. It significantly decreased covering behavior, including both covering behavior reaction (time to first covering) and ability (number of covered sea urchins and number of shells used for covering). Conversely, exposure to long-term elevated temperature significantly increased sheltering behavior. Righting response in S. intermedius was not significantly different between temperature treatments. The results provide new information into behavioral responses of echinoderms to ocean warming.

【 授权许可】

CC BY