Thermal sensitivity of the Chilean king crab Lithodes santolla
by Daniela Storch (senior scientist, from the Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (AWI), Germany)
My secondment took me to the Universidad Austral de Chile in Puerto Montt (Chile) where I made a great experience in the Department of Instituto de Acuicultura.
The laboratory of my Chilean colleague and CoastCarb participant Kurt Paschke is excellent for conducting eco-physiological work on life animals and especially on early life stages. We have been studying the thermal sensitivity of different life stages of the Chilean king crab Lithodes santolla which is one of the main predators and a key species in the Patagonian fjords. With our project we contributed to the work package 3 “Species Metrics and Multiple stressors”. We compared the temperature sensitivity of male king crabs from two populations that were more than 1500 km apart. The temperatures in the capture regions of these populations corresponded to an extreme cold and warm temperature regime.
We wanted to investigate if these populations differ in their thermal window and the associated costs. Therefore, we attached two sensors on top of the carapace and measured heart and ventilation rates. We placed the animals with sensors in the respiration chamber to measure oxygen consumption, heart and ventilation rates simultaneously (see Foto).
Furthermore, we compared the thermal tolerance window of embryos and adults to identify differences in their thermal sensitivity. Usually, embryos are more sensitive and vulnerable than other life stages. The determined metrics on the thermal range of L. santolla can be used in models. The excellent rearing conditions and the natural seawater supply of the laboratory at the Universidad Austral de Chile in Puerto Montt made the secondment a great success and expanded our knowledge of the thermal sensitivity of this fascinating king crab species and its various life stages.
