The thermal tolerance of five common marine species in Huangmao Sea, the South China Sea

Using dynamic method and the static method, we studied the effects of acclimation temperature (14.0, 18.0, 24.0, 30.8 °C) and temperature-rising rates (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 9.0, 12.0, 15.0 °C/h) on the thermal tolerance of five common marine animals (Siganus fuscessens, Sebastiscus marmoratus, Epinephelus bruneus, Oratosquilla oratoria and Charybdis japonica) in Huangmao Sea, the South China Sea. The results showed that both acclimation temperature and temperature-rising rate significantly affected the critical thermal maximum (CTM) and the 24 h upper incipient lethal temperature (24 h UILT₅₀) of the experimental animals. The CTM of each experimental species was positively related to acclimation temperature. The patterns in which temperature-rising rate affected the thermal tolerance of the animals varied among species, depending on acclimation temperature. In the static experiments, 24 h UILT₅₀ of the experimental animals was species-specific and was positively related to acclimation temperature. The 24 h UILT₅₀ of S. fuscessens, S. marmoratus, E. bruneus, O. oratoria and C. japonica increased from 28.1, 28.9, 30.3, 28.4, 36.3 °C to 34.6, 36.1, 36.6, 35.1, 38.2 °C with the increasing acclimation temperature (14.0 °C to 30.8 °C). In terms of thermal tolerance, the five experimental animals showed a ranking of C. japonica>E. bruneus>S. marmoratus>O. oratoria>S. fuscessens.