cases of low water flow and high solar radiation, temperatures of organisms such as corals can be several degrees
warmer than the water around them (Jimenez et al.,
2008). Gradients in water temperature in many coastal
systems can be very steep, so that the temperature even
a few meters below the surface can be considerably cooler
than that recorded on the surface, for example, by satellite
(Castillo and Lima, 2010). Measuring the temperatures of
organisms in situ and at scales appropriate to the organism
in question is therefore vital for understanding their thermal biology.
During aerial exposure at low tide, animal and plant
temperatures are often quite different from those of the
surrounding air and substrata (Lathlean et al., 2011). Frustratingly, the same factors that lead to observed differences
in organism temperature also affect the temperature
recorded by instruments, such as now commonly used
data loggers, so that the size, color, and mass of the instrument (or worse yet, the casing in which it is housed) all
affect the temperature that it records. Fitzhenry et al. (2004)
reported average differences of 14
C between the body
temperature of intertidal mussels and the adjacent temperature loggers. To combat this issue, the use of biomimetic
temperature loggers has been adopted (Lima et al., 2011).
Biomimetics are “thermally matched” to organisms and
can in many cases record temperatures close to that of
study organisms (Lima et al., 2011). Notably, a central
message is that a single instrument almost never records
measurements that are applicable to all organisms, since
each can display a different temperature.
The use of infrared thermography (Figure 1) has also
been used to measure patterns of temperature in the field
(Lathlean et al., 2012), although this approach carries with
it some drawbacks as well, as the camera needs to be calibrated to the surface properties (emissivity) of each species and the instrument cannot be deployed continuously
for long time periods.
Climate change and thermal biology
The relevance of thermal biology in coastal regions has
received renewed attention in the face of climate change.
Changes in the distribution and abundance of many
coastal species have been reported (Southward
et al., 2005). These studies have emphasized that if we
are to predict the likely impacts of ongoing and projected
climate change on coastal species, a nested approach that
considers the physiological, ecological, and biogeographic mechanisms by which the environment affects
the thermal biology of organisms in what are likely to be
unprecedented conditions should be used (Howard
et al., 2013).
Summary
The study of thermal biology in estuarine species is very
important since these organisms are subject to daily fluctuations in environmental conditions from ebb and flood
tides. Estuarine organisms can serve as model systems
when evaluating the impact of climate change and associated environmental processes because of the unique interchange with terrestrial and aquatic environments. In some
localities estuarine organisms are living at their thermal
maximum, and with the ensuing threat of aerial and water
temperature increases in the coming century, it will be paramount to understand how these changes will impact the
primary producers and ecosystem engineers in estuarine
biotic communities.
Bibliography
Castillo, K. D., and Lima, F. P., 2010. Comparison of in situ and
satellite-derived (MODIS-Aqua/Terra) methods for assessing
temperatures on coral reefs. Limnology and Oceanography:
Methods, 8, 107–117.
Denny, M. W., Dowd, W. W., Bilir, L., and Mach, K. J., 2011.
Spreading the risk: small-scale body temperature variation
among intertidal organisms and its implications for species persistence. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology,
400, 175–190.
Fitzhenry, T., Halpin, P. M., and Helmuth, B., 2004. Testing the
effects of wave exposure, site, and behavior on intertidal mussel
body temperatures: applications and limits of temperature logger
design. Marine Biology, 145, 339–349.
Howard, J., Babij, E., Griffis, R., Helmuth, B., Himes-Cornell, A.,
Neimier, P., Orbach, M., Petes, L., Allen, S., Auad, G., Beard,
R., Boatman, M., Bond, N., Boyer, T., Brown, D., Clay, P.,
Crane, K., Cross, S., Dalton, M., Diamond, J., Diaz, R., Dortch,
Q., Duffy, E., Fauquier, D., Fisher, W., Graham, M., Halpern, B.,
Hansen, L., Hayum, B., Herrick, S., Hollowed, A., Hutchins, D.,
Jewett, E., Jin, D., Knowlton, N., Kotowicz, D., Kristiansen, T.,
Little, P., Lopez, C., Loring, P., Lumpkin, R., Mace, A.,
Mengerink, K., Morrison, J. R., Murray, J., Norman, K.,
O’Donnell, J., Overland, J., Parsons, R., Pettigrew, N., Pfeiffer,
L., Pidgeon, E., Plummer, M., Polovina, J., Quintrell, J., Rowles,
T., Runge, J., Rust, M., Sanford, E., Send, U., Singer, M., Speir,
C., Stanitski, D., Thornber, C., and Xue, Y., 2013. Oceans and
marine resources in a changing climate. Oceanography and
Marine Biology Annual Review, London, 51, 71–192.
Iacarella, J. C., and Helmuth, B., 2011. Body temperature and desiccation constrain the activity of Littoraria irrorata within the
Spartina alterniflora canopy. Journal of Thermal Biology, 37,
15–22.
Jimenez, I. M., Kühl, M., Larkum, A. W. D., and Ralph, P. J., 2008.
Heat budget and thermal microenvironment of shallow-water
corals: do massive corals get warmer than branching corals?
Limnology and Oceanography, 53, 1548–1561.
Jost, J., and Helmuth, B., 2007. Morphological and ecological determinants of body temperature of Geukensia demissa, the Atlantic
ribbed Mussel, and their effects on mussel mortality. Biological
Bulletin, 213, 141–151.
Lathlean, J. A., Ayre, D. J., and Minchinton, T. E., 2011. Rocky
intertidal temperature variability along the southeast coast of
Australia: comparing data from in situ loggers, satellite-derived
SST and terrestrial weather stations. Marine Ecology Progress
Series, 439, 83–122.
Lathlean, J. A., Ayre, D. J., and Minchinton, T. E., 2012. Using
infrared imagery to test for quadrat-level temperature variation
and effects on the early life history of a rocky-shore barnacle.
Limnology and Oceanography, 57, 1279–1291.
Lima, F. P., Burnett, N. P., Helmuth, B., Aveni-Deforge, K., Kish,
N., and Wethey, D. S., 2011. Monitoring the intertidal environment with bio-mimetic devices. In Biomimetic Based Applications. Rijeka: INTECH Publishing, pp. 499–522.
THERMAL BIOLOGY
663
warmer than the water around them (Jimenez et al.,
2008). Gradients in water temperature in many coastal
systems can be very steep, so that the temperature even
a few meters below the surface can be considerably cooler
than that recorded on the surface, for example, by satellite
(Castillo and Lima, 2010). Measuring the temperatures of
organisms in situ and at scales appropriate to the organism
in question is therefore vital for understanding their thermal biology.
During aerial exposure at low tide, animal and plant
temperatures are often quite different from those of the
surrounding air and substrata (Lathlean et al., 2011). Frustratingly, the same factors that lead to observed differences
in organism temperature also affect the temperature
recorded by instruments, such as now commonly used
data loggers, so that the size, color, and mass of the instrument (or worse yet, the casing in which it is housed) all
affect the temperature that it records. Fitzhenry et al. (2004)
reported average differences of 14
C between the body
temperature of intertidal mussels and the adjacent temperature loggers. To combat this issue, the use of biomimetic
temperature loggers has been adopted (Lima et al., 2011).
Biomimetics are “thermally matched” to organisms and
can in many cases record temperatures close to that of
study organisms (Lima et al., 2011). Notably, a central
message is that a single instrument almost never records
measurements that are applicable to all organisms, since
each can display a different temperature.
The use of infrared thermography (Figure 1) has also
been used to measure patterns of temperature in the field
(Lathlean et al., 2012), although this approach carries with
it some drawbacks as well, as the camera needs to be calibrated to the surface properties (emissivity) of each species and the instrument cannot be deployed continuously
for long time periods.
Climate change and thermal biology
The relevance of thermal biology in coastal regions has
received renewed attention in the face of climate change.
Changes in the distribution and abundance of many
coastal species have been reported (Southward
et al., 2005). These studies have emphasized that if we
are to predict the likely impacts of ongoing and projected
climate change on coastal species, a nested approach that
considers the physiological, ecological, and biogeographic mechanisms by which the environment affects
the thermal biology of organisms in what are likely to be
unprecedented conditions should be used (Howard
et al., 2013).
Summary
The study of thermal biology in estuarine species is very
important since these organisms are subject to daily fluctuations in environmental conditions from ebb and flood
tides. Estuarine organisms can serve as model systems
when evaluating the impact of climate change and associated environmental processes because of the unique interchange with terrestrial and aquatic environments. In some
localities estuarine organisms are living at their thermal
maximum, and with the ensuing threat of aerial and water
temperature increases in the coming century, it will be paramount to understand how these changes will impact the
primary producers and ecosystem engineers in estuarine
biotic communities.
Bibliography
Castillo, K. D., and Lima, F. P., 2010. Comparison of in situ and
satellite-derived (MODIS-Aqua/Terra) methods for assessing
temperatures on coral reefs. Limnology and Oceanography:
Methods, 8, 107–117.
Denny, M. W., Dowd, W. W., Bilir, L., and Mach, K. J., 2011.
Spreading the risk: small-scale body temperature variation
among intertidal organisms and its implications for species persistence. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology,
400, 175–190.
Fitzhenry, T., Halpin, P. M., and Helmuth, B., 2004. Testing the
effects of wave exposure, site, and behavior on intertidal mussel
body temperatures: applications and limits of temperature logger
design. Marine Biology, 145, 339–349.
Howard, J., Babij, E., Griffis, R., Helmuth, B., Himes-Cornell, A.,
Neimier, P., Orbach, M., Petes, L., Allen, S., Auad, G., Beard,
R., Boatman, M., Bond, N., Boyer, T., Brown, D., Clay, P.,
Crane, K., Cross, S., Dalton, M., Diamond, J., Diaz, R., Dortch,
Q., Duffy, E., Fauquier, D., Fisher, W., Graham, M., Halpern, B.,
Hansen, L., Hayum, B., Herrick, S., Hollowed, A., Hutchins, D.,
Jewett, E., Jin, D., Knowlton, N., Kotowicz, D., Kristiansen, T.,
Little, P., Lopez, C., Loring, P., Lumpkin, R., Mace, A.,
Mengerink, K., Morrison, J. R., Murray, J., Norman, K.,
O’Donnell, J., Overland, J., Parsons, R., Pettigrew, N., Pfeiffer,
L., Pidgeon, E., Plummer, M., Polovina, J., Quintrell, J., Rowles,
T., Runge, J., Rust, M., Sanford, E., Send, U., Singer, M., Speir,
C., Stanitski, D., Thornber, C., and Xue, Y., 2013. Oceans and
marine resources in a changing climate. Oceanography and
Marine Biology Annual Review, London, 51, 71–192.
Iacarella, J. C., and Helmuth, B., 2011. Body temperature and desiccation constrain the activity of Littoraria irrorata within the
Spartina alterniflora canopy. Journal of Thermal Biology, 37,
15–22.
Jimenez, I. M., Kühl, M., Larkum, A. W. D., and Ralph, P. J., 2008.
Heat budget and thermal microenvironment of shallow-water
corals: do massive corals get warmer than branching corals?
Limnology and Oceanography, 53, 1548–1561.
Jost, J., and Helmuth, B., 2007. Morphological and ecological determinants of body temperature of Geukensia demissa, the Atlantic
ribbed Mussel, and their effects on mussel mortality. Biological
Bulletin, 213, 141–151.
Lathlean, J. A., Ayre, D. J., and Minchinton, T. E., 2011. Rocky
intertidal temperature variability along the southeast coast of
Australia: comparing data from in situ loggers, satellite-derived
SST and terrestrial weather stations. Marine Ecology Progress
Series, 439, 83–122.
Lathlean, J. A., Ayre, D. J., and Minchinton, T. E., 2012. Using
infrared imagery to test for quadrat-level temperature variation
and effects on the early life history of a rocky-shore barnacle.
Limnology and Oceanography, 57, 1279–1291.
Lima, F. P., Burnett, N. P., Helmuth, B., Aveni-Deforge, K., Kish,
N., and Wethey, D. S., 2011. Monitoring the intertidal environment with bio-mimetic devices. In Biomimetic Based Applications. Rijeka: INTECH Publishing, pp. 499–522.
THERMAL BIOLOGY
663