Physiological match and mismatch in climate dependent distribution of boreal marine invertebrates

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The physiological mechanisms, by which temperature and its oscillations shape biogeography, species survival, and energy expenditure for growth are addressed as crucial elements of climate effects on ecosystems. Such climate dependent physiological patterns are most adequately identified in marine aquatic species which cover wide latitudinal clines in temperate zones (Northern hemisphere). Each population of these species (frequently genetically different from neighbouring populations) is adapted to a specific climate regime on a gradient between warm and cold climates and the associated seasonal and inter-annual variability of its physical environment. Comparison of populations of the lugworm Arenicola marina is intended for a comprehensive identification and quantification of physiological processes sensitive to climate change. The adjustment of oxygen supply versus demand appears most crucial in thermal adaptation; therefore components of the oxygen transfer system, like haemoglobin functional properties, blood and tissue oxygenation, as well as parameters setting oxygen demand and organismic performance will be investigated in populations from the Atlantic, the North and White Seas. For each of those populations, climate oscillations beyond previous optima may lead them to the limits of their adaptational capacity, to be identified as a mismatch in demand vs supply capacities. Based on such physiological studies a cause and effect understanding is expected, how climate factors, molecular and cellular design as well as physiological and ecological performance are interrelated. Identification of the unifying trade-offs and constraints involved in thermal adaptation likely contributes to an understanding of how climate gradients and their oscillations shape ecosystem functioning during climate change scenarios.