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Rocks of different mineralogy show different temperature characteristics: implications for biodiversity on rocky seashores
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Rocks of different mineralogy show different temperature characteristics: implications for biodiversity on rocky seashores

Nathan Janetzki, Kirsten Benkendorff and Peter G Fairweather
PeerJ (San Francisco, CA), Vol.9, pp.e10712-e10712
2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10712
PMID: 33569252
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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0,  Open Access
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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#13 Climate Action
#14 Life Below Water
#15 Life on Land

Source: InCites

Abstract

Marine Biology Ecosystem Science Extreme heat Boulder Lithology Environmental Impacts Climate Change Biology X-ray diffraction Common-garden experiment Thermal imagery Intertidal Ecology
As some intertidal biota presently live near their upper tolerable thermal limits when emersed, predicted hotter temperatures and an increased frequency of extreme-heat events associated with global climate change may challenge the survival and persistence of such species. To predict the biological ramifications of climate change on rocky seashores, ecologists have collected baseline rock temperature data, which has shown substrate temperature is heterogenous in the rocky intertidal zone. A multitude of factors may affect rock temperature, although the potential roles of boulder surface (upper versus lower), lithology (rock type) and minerology have been largely neglected to date. Consequently, a common-garden experiment using intertidal boulders of six rock types tested whether temperature characteristics differed among rock types, boulder surfaces, and whether temperature characteristics were associated with rock mineralogy. The temperature of the upper and lower surfaces of all six rock types was heterogeneous at the millimetre to centimetre scale. Three qualitative patterns of temperature difference were identified on boulder surfaces: gradients; mosaics; and limited heterogeneity. The frequency of occurrence of these temperature patterns was heavily influenced by cloud cover. Upper surfaces were generally hotter than lower surfaces, plus purple siltstone and grey siltstone consistently had the hottest temperatures and white limestone and quartzite the coolest. Each rock type had unique mineralogy, with maximum temperatures correlated with the highest metallic oxide and trace metal content of rocks. These baseline data show that rock type, boulder surface and mineralogy all contribute to patterns of heterogenous substrate temperature, with the geological history of rocky seashores potentially influencing the future fate of species and populations under various climate change scenarios.

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