(Press-News.org) PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Here are two facts that make the lowly barnacle important: They are popular models for ecology research, and they are very sensitive to temperature. Given that, the authors of a new study about a bellwether community of two barnacle species in Chile figured they might see clear effects on competition between these two species if they experimentally changed temperature. In the context of climate change, such an experiment could yield profound new insights into the biological future of a major coastline that is prized for its ecological, aesthetic, and economic values.
But in the study to be printed in the April 2014 issue of the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, the scientists found no significant effect of temperature on competition at all. That surprising non-finding may have its own implications.
"The dominant if somewhat dated narrative in marine ecology, and ecology more broadly, is that competition is a major structuring force in natural communities," said co-author Heather Leslie, assistant professor of environmental studies and biology at Brown University. "We know it's a more nuanced story, but to find cases where it's a bit of a draw is really unusual."
Moreover, temperature did not turn out to be the mediating factor.
"Temperature wasn't the beast that we often think of it being, which in itself is surprising," Leslie said.
Plenty of studies of other co-occurring barnacles would have suggested otherwise. In the North Atlantic, there is a well-documented and clear dynamic between two barnacle species, the little gray barnacle (Chthamalus fragilis) and the northern rock barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides). The little gray barnacle can only survive high up on the rocks, where it is hottest and driest, because farther down it gets thoroughly routed by the northern rock barnacle. Temperature, in other words, provides the little gray's only refuge.
The picture in Chile was downright unclear. Previous studies had yielded conflicting hints about how temperature might affect the competition between two southern hemisphere barnacle species, Jehlius cirratus and Notochthalamus scabrosus. Led by Emily Lamb, who began the work as a Brown undergraduate concentrating in environmental science and is now a research assistant at the Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas (ECIM) in Chile, the team devised an experiment to get a more definitive answer.
Made in the shade
Like their northern cousins, the Chilean barnacles Jehlius and Notochthalamus live in a clearly stratified society with Jehlius more abundant higher up and Notochthalamus more abundant lower down into the tide. But they do blend somewhat at the highest reaches of the craggy rocks along the shore.
To see what effect temperature may have on their presumably competitive coexistence, Lamb and Jenna Shinen, an associate investigator at ECIM who studies coexistence and competition among the barnacles, built little 100-square-centimeter shade canopies and installed them at 10 sites along the rocks. They also selected 10 similar patches of rock to watch as controls.
They visited regularly from February to August of 2010 and measured temperature, took pictures to document barnacle abundance and growth, and even took samples for dissection to assess the species' reproductive output.
Overall, they found that shade and cooler temperatures did not significantly tip the competitive scales in favor of one species or the other. The relative abundance of the species higher up on the rocks, for example, didn't change at all with shading, even though the little shade shelters did indeed cool the plots.
The shade wasn't irrelevant. It had meaningful effects on the barnacles. Both species grew better in the shade (it was especially significant for Notochthalamus) than in the hot sun. Shade affected reproduction, too, but it didn't change the balance of power up and down the rocks.
"Finding a pair of species that exhibit vertical zonation but do not strongly compete is unusual," Lamb said.
And so, in apparent defiance of ecological intuition, whether the heat is on or off, these barnacles will weather it together.
INFORMATION:
Temperature and ecology: Rival Chilean barnacles keep competition cool
An ecological surprise
2014-02-21
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Schizophrenics are at greater risk of getting diseases
2014-02-21
Researchers have long known that people with autoimmune diseases, such as hepatitis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis, are at greater risk of developing schizophrenia.
But new research based on data sets covering the majority of the Danish population shows that the development goes both ways: People suffering from schizophrenia also have an increased risk of contracting autoimmune diseases, especially if they have suffered from a severe infection.
Head of the new study is Michael Eriksen Benrós, MD and PhD, who is senior researcher at the National ...
Early warning system for epidemics
2014-02-21
Cholera has been all but eradicated in Europe, but this bacterial, primarily waterborne disease still claims thousands of lives in Africa every year. Scientists are examining the effects various environmental factors have on cholera epidemics in Uganda. As part of this work, the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB in Karlsruhe developed a software architecture for early warning systems that compares environmental and health data and presents the results graphically. "This allowed us to visualize the complex relationships between ...
The parasite that escaped out of Africa
2014-02-21
PHILADELPHIA - An international team of scientists has traced the origin of Plasmodium vivax, the second-worst malaria parasite of humans, to Africa, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications. Until recently, the closest genetic relatives of human P. vivax were found only in Asian macaques, leading researchers to believe that P. vivax originated in Asia.
The study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, found that wild-living apes in central Africa are widely infected with parasites that, genetically, ...
Arizona residents learn how to share the road with big rig trucks
2014-02-21
Arizona residents learn how to share the road with big rig trucks
Article provided by Adelman German, P.L.C.
Visit us at http://www.adelmangerman.com
While many industries depend on large commercial "big rig" trucks to transport their goods through Arizona and across the country, these massive automobiles can be a threat to drivers on streets and highways. In fact, in Arizona alone, 65 people were killed in accidents involving tractor trailers in 2011 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. Nationwide, 3,608 people lost their lives ...
Wal-Mart heiress inadvertently shines light on Texas expungement
2014-02-21
Wal-Mart heiress inadvertently shines light on Texas expungement
Article provided by Law Offices of Q. Lynn Johnson, PLLC
Visit us at http://www.qlynnlaw.com
Alice Walton, heiress to the Wal-Mart corporation and one of the richest people in the world, recently had a Texas DWI arrest expunged from her record, shining light on this often-overlooked yet very useful legal tool. Walton was arrested in October of 2011 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Walton has claimed since the arrest that a physical disability (an injury to her leg in a 1983 car accident ...
Auto title loans can lead to financial disaster
2014-02-21
Auto title loans can lead to financial disaster
Article provided by The Rollins Law Firm
Visit us at http://www.therollinsfirm.com
When people are in tough financial situations, it can be tempting for them to look to any outlet for relief -- particularly when they lack access to traditional forms of credit. One source of credit that some consider is an auto title loan, where they secure loans with their vehicles. However, taking out such a loan can make a person's bad financial situation even worse by trapping them in a cycle of debt they cannot repay.
Borrowing ...
Texas custody and visitation must be in the child's best interest
2014-02-21
Texas custody and visitation must be in the child's best interest
Article provided by Daniel R. Bacalis, P.C., Attorney at Law
Visit us at http://www.dbacalis.com
Texas law strongly emphasizes that, first and foremost, the state court must consider the child's best interest when deciding matters of child custody and parental access. Of course, parents have important rights where raising their kids is concerned, but Texas puts the child's unique needs above all else, as do other states in the U.S.
Specifically, Texas law states that a child should have a "safe, ...
Calif. assisted living too often inadequate, dangerous or deadly
2014-02-21
Calif. assisted living too often inadequate, dangerous or deadly
Article provided by Janoff Law Group
Visit us at http://www.janofflaw.com
Many California families consider assisted-living facilities to be positive options for their elderly loved ones who need supported residential services. Frighteningly, evidence of poor care and inadequate governmental oversight has flooded the media in a series of journalistic investigations and legislative hearings.
The assisted-living model
Assisted-living facilities are popular for elderly people who do not need the ...
RISE Arts Collective Adds Three Artists to Los Angeles Open of "RISE: Love. Revolution. The Black Panther Party"
2014-02-21
RISE Arts Collective is pleased to announce the addition of three artists to "RISE: Love. Revolution. The Black Panther Party"; Lekit, Nancy Buchanan and Susu Attar. Forty-two incredible artists are now in the ground breaking group exhibit. The show opens February 21, 2014 and runs through March 21, 2014 at Art Share L.A.
The exhibit has also received a commendation from Pamela Bright-Moon Commissioner, L.A. County Arts Commission, 2nd District, "It gives me great pleasure to support RISE Arts Collective in their exhibit of "RISE: Love. Revolution. ...
Matt Morris promoted to Mobius Vendor Partner's Director of Information Systems and Operations Management (ISOM)
2014-02-21
Mobius Vendor Partners (MVP) an Indianapolis-based company that provides business process management and on line customer experience survey systems to companies, associations and non-profit organizations has promoted Matthew R. Morris to Director of Information Systems and Operations Management (ISOM). Previously he held the position of Manager of ISOM.
His duties will be to direct the technology aspects of CustomerCount, the ground breaking on-line feedback system for monitoring and measuring the sales, guest and resort experiences. He will direct survey deployment ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
QUT scientists create material to turn waste heat into clean power
Major new report sets out how to tackle the ‘profound and lasting impact’ of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health
Cosmic crime scene: White dwarf found devouring Pluto-like icy world
Major report tackles Covid’s cardiovascular crisis head-on
A third of licensed GPs in England not working in NHS general practice
ChatGPT “thought on the fly” when put through Ancient Greek maths puzzle
Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air
GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients
Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds
Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity
Type 2 diabetes may accelerate development of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the early stages, UK Biobank study suggests
Resistance training may improve nerve health, slow aging process, study shows
Common and inexpensive medicine halves the risk of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer
SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events
Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design
New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients
Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?
Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain
Decoding plants’ language of light
UNC Greensboro study finds ticks carrying Lyme disease moving into western NC
New implant restores blood pressure balance after spinal cord injury
New York City's medical specialist advantage may be an illusion, new NYU Tandon research shows
Could a local anesthetic that doesn’t impair motor function be within reach?
1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5
In the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day
Warming of 2°C intensifies Arctic carbon sink but weakens Alpine sink, study finds
Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the Middle East were committed to wine production
Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago
Temporary medical centers in Gaza known as "Medical Points" (MPs) treat an average of 117 people daily with only about 7 staff per MP
Rates of alcohol-induced deaths among the general population nearly doubled from 1999 to 2024
[Press-News.org] Temperature and ecology: Rival Chilean barnacles keep competition coolAn ecological surprise