Impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities

Predators exert powerful influences on community structure through direct consumption and indirect predation risk that cascade down to lower trophic levels. However, predator effects are shifting in marine ecosystems due to global warming and ocean acidification, so predicting community-wide respons...

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Main Author: Draper, Alex M.
Other Authors: Weissburg, Marc J., Hay, Mark, Kubanek, Julia, Weigel, Emily, Hudson, Dave, Biology
Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
Language:English
Published: Georgia Institute of Technology 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1853/72446
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record_format openpolar
spelling ftgeorgiatech:oai:repository.gatech.edu:1853/72446 2023-08-27T04:11:22+02:00 Impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities Draper, Alex M. Weissburg, Marc J. Hay, Mark Kubanek, Julia Weigel, Emily Hudson, Dave Biology 2023-07-26T18:46:21Z application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1853/72446 en_US eng Georgia Institute of Technology https://hdl.handle.net/1853/72446 Non-consumptive Consumptive Warming Acidification Blue crab Mud crab Sensory Ecology Text Dissertation 2023 ftgeorgiatech 2023-08-07T18:01:41Z Predators exert powerful influences on community structure through direct consumption and indirect predation risk that cascade down to lower trophic levels. However, predator effects are shifting in marine ecosystems due to global warming and ocean acidification, so predicting community-wide responses to climate change requires examining the physiological and behavioral mechanisms that drive changes in predator-prey interactions. In this dissertation, I developed a framework for understanding how warming and acidification can alter predator-prey interactions in oyster reefs by investigating the physiological and sensory-mediated behavioral responses of blue crab predators (Callinectes sapidus) and mud crab prey (Panopeus herbstii). First, I compared the physiological responses of blue crabs and mud crabs to warming and acidification. While survival of both species was negatively affected by the combination of warming and acidification, differences in metabolic responses suggest that mud crabs and blue crabs are differentially adapted to local environments that influence their responses to climate change. Next, I focused on the effects of warming and acidification on the chemosensory foraging behaviors of blue crab predators to attractive food cues using a two-channel choice flume. I found that warming slightly affected path kinematics of blue crab tracking behavior, but blue crabs maintained high success rates in tracking food cues regardless of temperature or pH stress, suggesting that their chemosensory function is robust to climate change. Finally, I investigated the effects of warming and acidification on the transmission and detection of blue crab predator cues that consequently suppress foraging behavior in mud crab prey, using either predator cues stressed in acidified conditions or prey stressed in warmed and acidified conditions. Warming constrained overall foraging activity of mud crabs regardless of predator cue, but acidifying the cue or the mud crabs did not affect this antipredator response. Thus, ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Ocean acidification Georgia Institute of Technology: SMARTech - Scholarly Materials and Research at Georgia Tech
institution Open Polar
collection Georgia Institute of Technology: SMARTech - Scholarly Materials and Research at Georgia Tech
op_collection_id ftgeorgiatech
language English
topic Non-consumptive
Consumptive
Warming
Acidification
Blue crab
Mud crab
Sensory
Ecology
spellingShingle Non-consumptive
Consumptive
Warming
Acidification
Blue crab
Mud crab
Sensory
Ecology
Draper, Alex M.
Impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities
topic_facet Non-consumptive
Consumptive
Warming
Acidification
Blue crab
Mud crab
Sensory
Ecology
description Predators exert powerful influences on community structure through direct consumption and indirect predation risk that cascade down to lower trophic levels. However, predator effects are shifting in marine ecosystems due to global warming and ocean acidification, so predicting community-wide responses to climate change requires examining the physiological and behavioral mechanisms that drive changes in predator-prey interactions. In this dissertation, I developed a framework for understanding how warming and acidification can alter predator-prey interactions in oyster reefs by investigating the physiological and sensory-mediated behavioral responses of blue crab predators (Callinectes sapidus) and mud crab prey (Panopeus herbstii). First, I compared the physiological responses of blue crabs and mud crabs to warming and acidification. While survival of both species was negatively affected by the combination of warming and acidification, differences in metabolic responses suggest that mud crabs and blue crabs are differentially adapted to local environments that influence their responses to climate change. Next, I focused on the effects of warming and acidification on the chemosensory foraging behaviors of blue crab predators to attractive food cues using a two-channel choice flume. I found that warming slightly affected path kinematics of blue crab tracking behavior, but blue crabs maintained high success rates in tracking food cues regardless of temperature or pH stress, suggesting that their chemosensory function is robust to climate change. Finally, I investigated the effects of warming and acidification on the transmission and detection of blue crab predator cues that consequently suppress foraging behavior in mud crab prey, using either predator cues stressed in acidified conditions or prey stressed in warmed and acidified conditions. Warming constrained overall foraging activity of mud crabs regardless of predator cue, but acidifying the cue or the mud crabs did not affect this antipredator response. Thus, ...
author2 Weissburg, Marc J.
Hay, Mark
Kubanek, Julia
Weigel, Emily
Hudson, Dave
Biology
format Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
author Draper, Alex M.
author_facet Draper, Alex M.
author_sort Draper, Alex M.
title Impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities
title_short Impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities
title_full Impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities
title_fullStr Impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities
title_full_unstemmed Impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities
title_sort impacts of climate change on physiology, behavior, and predator-prey interactions in oyster reef communities
publisher Georgia Institute of Technology
publishDate 2023
url https://hdl.handle.net/1853/72446
genre Ocean acidification
genre_facet Ocean acidification
op_relation https://hdl.handle.net/1853/72446
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