Journal
ECOGRAPHY
Volume 44, Issue 9, Pages 1283-1295Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/ecog.05545
Keywords
allometry; chlorophyll; continuous plankton recorder; ectotherms; environmental drivers; invertebrate; macroecology; statistical modelling; temperature-size rule; zooplankton
Categories
Funding
- DEFRA UK [ME-5308]
- NSF USA [OCE-1657887]
- DFO CA [F5955-150026/001/HAL]
- NERC UK [NC-R8/H12/100]
- IMR Norway
- NERC [SAH01001] Funding Source: UKRI
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The study provides strong support for Bergmann's rule in marine copepods, showing that temperature is a key factor in determining body size. Other drivers, such as food availability, also play a role in modifying this pattern. Smaller copepod species may benefit as 'winners' in a warming world, potentially impacting fisheries production and carbon sequestration rates.
Macroecological relationships provide insights into rules that govern ecological systems. Bergmann's rule posits that members of the same clade are larger at colder temperatures. Whether temperature drives this relationship is debated because several other potential drivers covary with temperature. We conducted a near-global comparative analysis on marine copepods (97 830 samples, 388 taxa) to test Bergmann's rule, considering other potential drivers. Supporting Bergmann's rule, we found temperature better predicted size than did latitude or oxygen, with body size decreasing by 43.9% across the temperature range (-1.7 to 30oC). Body size also decreased by 26.9% across the range in food availability. Our results provide strong support for Bergman's rule in copepods, but emphasises the importance of other drivers in modifying this pattern. As the world warms, smaller copepod species are likely to emerge as 'winners', potentially reducing rates of fisheries production and carbon sequestration.
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