Abstract
In light of ongoing climate change, it is increasingly important to know
how nutritional requirements of ectotherms are affected by changing
temperatures. Here, we analyse the wide thermal response of phosphorus
(P) requirements via elemental gross growth efficiencies of Carbon (C)
and P, and the Threshold Elemental Ratios in different aquatic
invertebrate ectotherms such as the freshwater model species Daphnia
magna, the marine copepod Acartia tonsa, the marine heterotrophic
dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina, and larvae of two populations of the
marine crab Carcinus maenas. We show that they all share a non-linear
cubic thermal response of nutrient requirements. Phosphorus requirements
decrease from low to intermediate temperatures, increase at higher
temperatures, and decrease again when temperature is excessive. This
universality in the thermal response of nutrient requirements is of
great importance if we aim to understand or even predict how ectotherm
communities will react to global warming and nutrient-driven
eutrophication.