We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate and compare responses of development time, cumulative degree-days and survival of fish eggs from 32 populations of 17 species in the North Atlantic to different temperatures in order to determine potential consequences of global warming for these species. We demonstrate that present day temperatures at time and place of spawning for these species are tightly linked to physiological optimal temperature for egg development and survival.
Early life stages, from eggs to juveniles, are critical periods in the life of fish and it is likely that the temperature during egg development is a key evolutionary driver setting the spawning time and location of fish species. A meta-analysis of 32 different fish populations indicates a close correlation between optimal temperature for egg survival, and actual temperature at spawning sites, as might be expected.
Further analysis showed that the development rates in all species exhibited a similar sensitivity to temperature changes, but the sensitivity of survival varied significantly across species. For instance, for mackerel in the Northwest Atlantic, survival would be reduced to 60% of current egg survivorship under a projected temperature rise of 2oC, whereas haddock on Georges Bank would remain at 95% of current levels. Estimates for other fish stocks around the North Atlantic lie between these extremes. This gives an indication of the vulnerabilities of these different populations to climate change.
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Stavroula Tsoukali, André W. Visser, Brian R. MacKenzie, 2016. Functional responses of North Atlantic fish eggs to increasing temperature. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 555: 151–165, doi: 10.3354/meps11758