Thermal history, heatwaves, and the costs and benefits to physiological plasticity in the California mussel (Mytilus californianus)
department or school: Science, Faculty of
department or school: Zoology, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Brownlee, Graham Robert Paul
issued: 2022-05-16T18:29:28Z
issued: 2022
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Temperature, due to its influence on biochemical reaction rates, is one of the fundamental drivers of physiology for life on Earth. Because of this relationship, one of the predominant challenges species face in persisting in a changing climate is responding to shifts and perturbations in their thermal environment. While evolutionary processes can favourably shift phenotype distributions in response to altered thermal histories and demographic processes can improve genetic diversity and support population size and growth, possessing rapid-response mechanisms at the organismal level can assist the immediate persistence of a population facing extreme temperatures. Physiological plasticity is a process that can allow species to respond to a changing environment and improve their survival or maintain ecological performance. However, not all species are able to increase their upper thermal tolerance when facing more stressful temperatures, and while higher tolerance limits may improve survival in the short-term, there can be important and underappreciated impacts in sublethal responses like reproductive capacity. The primary goal of my thesis was to test the physiological plasticity of upper thermal tolerance, cardiac thermal tolerance, and reproductive capacity in an important rocky intertidal zone foundation species, Mytilus californianus (Conrad, 1837) following long-term aerial acclimation. Additionally, I tested the seasonal variation in upper thermal tolerance M. californianus expressed during the summer of 2021 and documented the effects of the Pacific Northwest heat dome on mussel survival in wave-exposed and wave-sheltered beds. I found that M. californianus substantially increases its upper thermal tolerance and maximum heart rate following acclimation to increasing aerial temperatures (22°C, 28°C, 34°C), but reproductive capacity is reduced at higher temperatures. M. californianus’ upper thermal tolerance increased over the summer of 2021, but to a lesser degr…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/81578
note: Thermal history, heatwaves, and the costs and benefits to physiological plasticity in the California mussel (Mytilus californianus) by Graham Robert Paul Brownlee B.Sc. (Hons), The University of British Columbia (Vancouver), 2019 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Zoology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2022 © Graham Robert Paul Brownlee, 2022 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: THERMAL HISTORY, HEATWAVES, AND THE COSTS AND BENEFITS TO PHYSIOLOGICAL PLASTICITY IN THE CALIFORNIA MUSSEL (MYTILUS CALIFORNIANUS) submitted by Graham Brownlee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology Examining Committee: Christopher Harley, Professor, Zoology, UBC Supervisor Michelle Tseng, Assistant Professor, Zoology, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Katie Marshall, Assistant Professor, Zoology, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Patricia Schulte, Professor, Zoology, UBC Additional Examiner iii Abstract Temperature, due to its influence on biochemical reaction rates, is one of the fundamental drivers of physiology for life on Earth. Because of this relationship, one of the predominant challenges species face in persisting in a changing climate is responding to shifts and perturbations in their thermal environment. While evolutionary processes can favourably shift phenotype distributions in response to altered thermal histories and demographic processes can improve genetic diversity and support population size and growth, possessing rapid-response mechanisms at the organismal level can assist the immediate persistence of a population facing extreme temperatures. Physiological plasticity is a process that can allow species to respond to a changing environment and improve their survival or …
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2022-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0413627
language: eng
degree discipline: Zoology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Harley, Christopher David Grant
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/81578