The effects of constant and fluctuating thermal environments on the life history traits of the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas

Abstract

Climatic changes involve increasing temperatures, which will continue to occur for the foreseeable future (Mora et al., 2013).

Most climate change experiments are done in constant temperatures. We know experimentally that constant temperatures overestimate thermal tolerance and growth (Kingsolver et al., 2009).

Growing degree days (GDD) are implemented as an approach to use field temperature variation to account for this overestimation, but is seldom tested in the lab.

Our goal was to empirically evaluate how accurately GDD capture fish thermal physiology.