Local Adaptation Reduces the Metabolic Cost of Environmental Warming

Metabolism shapes the ecosystem role of organisms by dictating their energy demand. Metabolic theory (MTE) predicts metabolic rates will rise with warming, especially if body size declines, but it ignores potential for adaptation. We measured metabolic and nutrient excretion rates of individuals from populations of a globally invasive fish spanning a wide temperature range. Fish body size declined across our temperature gradient, and the allometry and temperature dependency of metabolism varied in a way that offsets predictions of MTE. Our results suggest that adaptation can reduce the metabolic cost of warming, increasing the prospects for population persistence under extreme warming scenarios. These photographs illustrate the article “Local adaptation reduces the metabolic cost of environmental warming” by Emma R. Moffett, David C. Fryxell, Eric P. Palkovacs, Michael T. Kinnison, and Kevin S. Simon published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.246