A Cold Limit to Adaptation in the Sea. (January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peck, Lloyd S.
• Is Part Of: Trends in ecology & evolution. Volume 31:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 13
• Page End: 26
• Publication Date: 2016-01
• Subjects: Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution (Biology) -- Periodicals; 576.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.09.014
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0169-5347

Abstract

Abstract : Temperature affects biological functions by altering reaction rates. Physiological rates usually double to treble for every 10°C rise, and 1–4 fold encompasses normal biological functions. However, in polar marine species inhabiting temperatures around 0°C many processes are slowed beyond the Arrhenius relationships for warmer water species. Growth, embryonic development, Specific dynamic action (SDA) duration, and time to acclimate to altered temperature, are all 5–12 fold slower in species living near 0°C than at 10°C. This cold marine physiological transition to slower states is absent, however, in oxygen consumption and SDA factorial scope; processes where capacity is related to aerobic scope. My opinion is that processes involving significant protein modification are impacted, and protein synthesis or folding problems cause the slowing of rates beyond expected temperature effects. Trends: Emerging data are demonstrating that polar marine species living permanently at temperatures near 0°C have among the poorest abilities to respond to changes in environmental temperature on Earth. A growing body of evidence indicates that Antarctic marine animals have great problems making proteins that function normally, from high levels of constitutive heat shock proteins (HSPs) through high RNA to protein ratios and high levels of ubiquitin tagging of proteins in cells. These problems seem likely to be at the protein folding stage. Linking protein folding to ecophysiological functions and then out to resilience to environmental change would provide one of the first mechanistic explanations of a limit of biodiversity to respond to climate change.