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Will shrinking body size and increasing species diversity of crustaceans follow the Warming of the Arctic litoral ?
  • Jan Węsławski,
  • Joanna Legezynska,
  • Maria Wlodarska- Kowalczuk
Jan Węsławski
Institute of Oceanology PAS

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Joanna Legezynska
Institute of Oceanology PAS
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Maria Wlodarska- Kowalczuk
Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Oceanology
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Abstract

Over thirty species of littoral marine Gammaridea occur along the coasts of the North Atlantic. From one to several species can coexist in a single region. There is an evident, inverse relationship between egg incubation time and temperature (from 14 to > 120 days) and consequent trends in the size of the animals on reaching maturity (from 5 mm in warmer waters to 30 mm in the coldest ones) and in lifespan (from < 6 months to > 5 years). Littoral gammarids are a good example of the shrinking size effect of increasing temperatures and size-related species diversity. In large species the annual cohorts of the population (3 to 5 annual size groups) functionally replace the adults of smaller species. The ongoing warming of the European Arctic seas may extend the distribution limits of boreal species so that more Gammarus species may appear on northern coasts hitherto occupied by just one or at most two species.
11 Mar 2020Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
13 Mar 2020Submission Checks Completed
13 Mar 2020Assigned to Editor
25 Mar 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
27 Apr 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
28 Apr 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
19 May 20201st Revision Received
20 May 2020Submission Checks Completed
20 May 2020Assigned to Editor
20 May 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
21 May 2020Editorial Decision: Accept