Quantifying the portfolio of larval responses to salinity and temperature in a coastal-marine invertebrate: a cross population study along the European coast

Species’ responses to climate change may vary considerably among populations. Various response patterns define the portfolio available for a species to cope with and mitigate effects of climate change. Here, we quantified variation in larval survival and physiological rates of Carcinus maenas among populations occurring in distant or contrasting habitats (Cádiz: Spain, Helgoland: North Sea, Kerteminde: Baltic Sea). During the reproductive season, we reared larvae of these populations, in the laboratory, under a combination of several temperatures (15–24 °C) and salinities (25 and 32.5 PSU). In survival, all three populations showed a mitigating effect of high temperatures at lower salinity, with the strongest pattern for Helgoland. However, Cádiz and Kerteminde differed from Helgoland in that a strong thermal mitigation did not occur for growth and developmental rates. For all populations, oxygen consumption rates were driven only by temperature; hence, these could not explain the growth rate depression found at lower salinity. Larvae from Cádiz, reared in seawater, showed increased survival at the highest temperature, which differs from Helgoland (no clear survival pattern), and especially Kerteminde (decreased survival at high temperature). These responses from the Cádiz population correspond with the larval and parental habitat (i.e., high salinity and temperature) and may reflect local adaptation. Overall, along the European coast, C. maenas larvae showed a diversity of responses, which may enable specific populations to tolerate warming and subsidise more vulnerable populations. In such case, C. maenas would be able to cope with climate change through a spatial portfolio effect.