Phytoplankton thermal responses adapt in the absence of hard thermodynamic constraints.

ABSTRACT: To better predict how populations and communities respond to climatic temperature variation, it is necessary to understand how the shape of the response of fitness-related rates to temperature evolves (the thermal performance curve). Currently, there is disagreement about the extent to which the evolution of thermal performance curves is constrained. One school of thought has argued for the prevalence of thermodynamic constraints through enzyme kinetics, whereas another argues that adaptation can-at least partly-overcome such constraints. To shed further light on this debate, we perform a phylogenetic meta-analysis of the thermal performance curves of growth rate of phytoplankton-a globally important functional group-controlling for environmental effects (habitat type and thermal regime).

SUBMITTER: Kontopoulos DG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7384082 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature