Understanding and predicting physiological performance of organisms in fluctuating and multifactorial environments

Apostolos-Manuel Koussoroplis (1) , Sylvain Pincebourde (2) , Alexander Wacker (3)

1 LMGE - Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement
2 IRBI - Institut de recherche sur la biologie de l'insecte
3 University of Potsdam = Universität Potsdam

Understanding how variance in environmental factors affects physiological performance , population growth, and persistence is central in ecology. Despite recent interest in the effects of variance in single biological drivers, such as temperature, we have lacked a comprehensive framework for predicting how the variances and covariances between multiple environmental factors will affect physiological rates. Here, we integrate current theory on variance effects with co-limitation theory into a single unified conceptual framework that has general applicability. We show how the framework can be applied (1) to generate mathematically tractable predictions of the physiological effects of multiple fluctuating co-limiting factors , (2) to understand how each co-limiting factor contributes to these effects, and (3) to detect mechanisms such as acclimation or physiological stress when they are at play. We show that the statistical covariance of co-limiting factors, which has not been considered before, can be a strong driver of physiological performance in various ecological contexts. Our framework can provide powerful insights on how the global change-induced shifts in multiple environmental factors affect the physiological performance of organisms.

Mots clés: co-limitation; covariance; eco-physiology; feeding rate; global change; multiple stressors; nonlinear averaging; nutrients; scale transition; temperature; temporal ecology; variance

Domaines: Biodiversité et Ecologie; Ecologie, Environnement

Apostolos-Manuel Koussoroplis, Sylvain Pincebourde, Alexander Wacker. Understanding and predicting physiological performance of organisms in fluctuating and multifactorial environments. Ecological monographs, 2017, 87 (2), pp.178-197. ⟨10.1002/ecm.1247⟩. ⟨hal-01693385⟩