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Transgenerational exposure to marine heatwaves ameliorates the lethal effect on tropical copepods regardless of predation stress
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  • Kiem Truong,
  • Ngoc-Anh Vu,
  • Nam Doan,
  • Canh Bui,
  • Minh Hoang Le,
  • Minh Vu,
  • Khuong Dinh
Kiem Truong
Vietnam National University Hanoi

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Ngoc-Anh Vu
Vietnam National University Hanoi
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Nam Doan
Nha Trang University
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Canh Bui
Nha Trang University
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Minh Hoang Le
Nha Trang University
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Minh Vu
University of Oslo Department of Biosciences
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Khuong Dinh
University of Oslo Department of Biosciences
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Abstract

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) emerge as a severe stressor in marine ecosystems. Extreme warm sea surface temperatures during MHWs are often beyond the optimal thermal range and beyond one generation of tropical coastal zooplankton. However, it is relatively unknown whether transgenerational MHW effect may shape the offspring fitness, particularly in an ecologically relevant context with biotic interactions such as predation stress. We addressed these novel research questions by quantifying the reproductive success, grazing, and survival of copepod Pseudodiaptomus incisus exposed to MHW and fish predator cues (FPC) for two generations (F1 and F2). There were four F1 treatments [(control or F1-MHW) × (no FPC or F1-FPC)] and 16 F2 treatments [(control or F1-MHW) × (no F1-FPC or F1-FPC)] × [(control or F2-MHW × no F2-FPC or F2-FPC)]. In both generations, P. incisus performance was substantially lowered in MHW, but slightly higher in FPC, particularly in control temperature. F2 reproductive success and cumulative faecals were reduced by 20-30% in F1-MHW, but increased by ~2% in F1-FPC. Strikingly, direct MHW exposure strongly reduced survival, but transgenerational MHW exposure ameliorated its lethal effect and was independent of FPC. The increased survival came with a cost of reduced reproductive success, constrained by reduced grazing. The rapid transgenerational MHW acclimation and its associated costs are likely widespread and crucial mechanisms underlying the resilience of coastal tropical zooplankton to MHWs under high predation pressure in the tropical coastal marine ecosystems.
13 Apr 2022Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
14 Apr 2022Submission Checks Completed
14 Apr 2022Assigned to Editor
22 Apr 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
31 May 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
08 Jun 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
21 Jun 20221st Revision Received
22 Jun 2022Submission Checks Completed
22 Jun 2022Assigned to Editor
22 Jun 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
04 Jul 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
Aug 2022Published in Ecology and Evolution volume 12 issue 8. 10.1002/ece3.9149