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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Warm Microhabitats Drive Both Increased Respiration And Growth Rates Of Intertidal Consumers, Luke P. Miller, Bengt J. Allen, Felicia A. King, Daisy R. Chilin, Vanessa M. Reynoso, Mark W. Denny
Warm Microhabitats Drive Both Increased Respiration And Growth Rates Of Intertidal Consumers, Luke P. Miller, Bengt J. Allen, Felicia A. King, Daisy R. Chilin, Vanessa M. Reynoso, Mark W. Denny
Luke P. Miller
Rocky intertidal organisms are often exposed to broadly fluctuating temperatures as the tides rise and fall. Many mobile consumers living on the shore are immobile during low tide, and can be exposed to high temperatures on calm, warm days. Rising body temperatures can raise metabolic rates, induce stress responses, and potentially affect growth and survival, but the effects may differ among species with different microhabitat preferences. We measured aerial and aquatic respiration rates of 4 species of Lottia limpets from central California, and estimated critical thermal maxima. In a variety of microhabitats in the field, we tracked body temperatures and …
A Tide Prediction And Tide Height Control System For Laboratory Mesocosms, Luke P. Miller, Jeremy D. Long
A Tide Prediction And Tide Height Control System For Laboratory Mesocosms, Luke P. Miller, Jeremy D. Long
Luke P. Miller
Experimental mesocosm studies of rocky shore and estuarine intertidal systems may benefit from the application of natural tide cycles to better replicate variation in immersion time, water depth, and attendant fluctuations in abiotic and edaphic conditions. Here we describe a stand-alone microcontroller tide prediction open-source software program, coupled with a mechanical tidal elevation control system, which allows continuous adjustment of aquarium water depths in synchrony with local tide cycles. We used this system to monitor the growth of Spartina foliosa marsh cordgrass and scale insect herbivores at three simulated shore elevations in laboratory mesocosms. Plant growth decreased with increasing shore …