aerobic scope

ecosystem functioning

oxygen affinity

thermal tolerance

swim bladder

respiration rates

degrees degrees

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance Organismal responses to climate change are mediated through its effects on physiology and metabolism. In aquatic environments, both water temperature and oxygen availability may modulate these responses by altering the aerobic metabolism fueling physiological performance. However, ecological models aimed at predicting how environmental factors shape aerobic metabolism disregard the role of oxygen supply. Here, we expand on these models by explicitly incorporating oxygen supply. Our results show that warmer water increases oxygen demand relative to supply, and the resulting reduction in aerobic scope appears to be stronger in larger individuals. Smaller aerobic scopes in warming water imply that climate change will reduce energy budgets needed to support the activities of aquatic animals and their physiological performance in the future.

Oxygen limitation may affect the temperature and size dependence of metabolism in aquatic ectotherms