title: Ecophysiology. Climate change tightens a metabolic constraint on marine habitats.
abstract: Warming of the oceans and consequent loss of dissolved oxygen (O2) will alter marine ecosystems, but a mechanistic framework to predict the impact of multiple stressors on viable habitat is lacking. Here, we integrate physiological, climatic, and biogeographic data to calibrate and then map a key metabolic index-the ratio of O2 supply to resting metabolic O2 demand-across geographic ranges of several marine ectotherms. These species differ in thermal and hypoxic tolerances, but their contemporary distributions are all bounded at the equatorward edge by a minimum metabolic index of ~2 to 5, indicative of a critical energetic requirement for organismal activity. The combined effects of warming and O2 loss this century are projected to reduce the upper ocean's metabolic index by ~20% globally and by ~50% in northern high-latitude regions, forcing poleward and vertical contraction of metabolically viable habitats and species ranges.
authors.affiliation: School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. cdeutsch@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Curtis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Deutsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrel
authors.affiliation: Biological Sciences Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA.
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Seibel
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Otto
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Pörtner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Raymond B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Huey
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000378:metabolism*; D003386:Brachyura / Q000378:metabolism; D057231:Climate Change; D017753:Ecosystem; D048389:Gadus morhua / Q000378:metabolism; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010473:Perciformes / Q000378:metabolism; D021541:Sea Bream / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen