Predator response diversity to warming enables ecosystem resilience in the Galápagos

Abstract

An important impact of global warming in nature is the decline of ecological functions such as primary production, habitat provision, and carbon sequestration. These functions can be disrupted when the species that perform them are impaired by anthropogenic warming or other stressors. Where there is a diversity of responses to warming among the species filling these roles, the function is more likely to be maintained despite the loss of the least tolerant species. However, the response diversity to warming of key functions is generally unknown, particularly for the roles played by predatory and marine species. Here, we show that the thermal sensitivity of predation to acute warming varies substantially among four marine invertebrate carnivores: three whelks and a sea star that inhabit rocky reefs around the Galápagos islands. Two of the four predators were clearly adapted to cooler temperatures and their functional performance declined dramatically with experimental warming. In contrast, predation by two whelks, and one in particular, improved with warming, including beyond temperatures expected in 2100 under the most pessimistic emissions scenario. These results suggest that a high level of temperature response diversity of predation could help maintain this critical function in a variable and changing environment.