Data from: Fast-growing oysters show reduced capacity to provide a thermal refuge to intertidal biodiversity at high temperatures

1.Ecosystem engineers that modify the thermal environment experienced by associated organisms might assist in the climate change adaptation of species. This depends upon the ability of ecosystem engineers to persist and continue to ameliorate thermal stress under changing climatic conditions – traits that may display significant intraspecific variation.

2.In the physically stressful intertidal, the complex three-dimensional structure of oysters provides shading and traps moisture during aerial exposure at low tide. We assessed variation in the capacity of a faster- and slower-growing population of the Sydney Rock Oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, to persist, form three-dimensional structure and provide a cool microhabitat to invertebrates under warmer conditions.

3.The two populations of oysters were exposed to a temperature gradient in the field by attaching them to passively warmed white, grey and black stone pavers and their growth, survivorship and colonisation by invertebrates was monitored over a 12 month period.

4.Oysters displayed a trade-off between fast growth and thermal tolerance. The growth advantage of the fast-growing population diminished with increasing substrate temperature and at higher temperatures the faster-growing oysters suffered greater mortality, formed less habitat, and were consequently less effective at ameliorating low-tide air temperature extremes than slower-growing oysters. The greater survivorship of slower-growing oysters, in turn, produced a cooler microclimate which fed back to further bolster oyster survivorship. Invertebrate recruitment increased with habitat cover, and was greater among the slower than the faster-growing population.

5.Our results show that the capacity of ecosystem engineers to serve as microhabitat refugia to associated organisms in a warming climate displays marked intraspecific variation. Our study also adds to growing evidence that fast growth may come at the expense of thermal tolerance.

Usage Notes
Temperature, oyster survivorship and growth, and recruited invertebrate assemblage dataData of the maximum temperatures that Sydney Rock Oysters experienced, their subsequent survivorship, growth and habitat formation, and the invertebrate communities that recruited to the oyster habitat during two field experiments in the Port Stephens estuary of New South Wales, Australia. Data was collected in 2014 and 2015.McAfee et al. 2017_raw data.xlsx

1. 能够改变伴生生物所经历的热环境的生态系统工程师（ecosystem engineers），或可助力物种适应气候变化。这取决于生态系统工程师在气候变化情境下持续存续并持续缓解热胁迫的能力——此类性状可能呈现出显著的种内变异。
2. 在物理胁迫显著的潮间带生境中，牡蛎的复杂三维结构可在低潮露空时段提供遮蔽并留存水分。本研究针对两种生长速率各异的悉尼岩牡蛎（Saccostrea glomerata）种群，评估其在升温条件下的存续能力、三维结构构建能力，以及为无脊椎动物提供凉爽微生境的能力。
3. 研究人员将两种牡蛎种群附着于被动升温的白色、灰色与黑色石材铺路砖上，置于野外温度梯度环境中，并在12个月的周期内监测其生长、存活情况以及无脊椎动物的定殖动态。
4. 牡蛎种群展现出生长速率与耐热性之间的权衡关系：随着基质温度升高，快生长种群的生长优势逐渐减弱；在更高温度条件下，快生长牡蛎的死亡率更高，构建的生境更少，因此相比慢生长牡蛎，其缓解低潮空气极端温度的效果更差。慢生长牡蛎的高存活率反过来可形成更凉爽的微气候，进而进一步提升自身的存活率。无脊椎动物的招募量随生境覆盖度增加而提升，且慢生长种群区域的招募量高于快生长种群。
5. 本研究结果表明，在气候变暖背景下，生态系统工程师作为伴生生物微生境避难所的能力存在显著的种内变异。本研究也为"快速生长可能以牺牲耐热性为代价"这一日益增多的证据链增添了新的佐证。

使用说明
本数据集涵盖澳大利亚新南威尔士州斯蒂芬斯港河口两项野外实验的相关数据：温度、牡蛎存活率与生长情况，以及招募的无脊椎动物群落数据——具体包括悉尼岩牡蛎所经历的最高温度、其后续存活率、生长与生境构建情况，以及定殖于牡蛎生境的无脊椎动物群落数据。数据采集于2014年与2015年。原始数据文件：McAfee et al. 2017_raw data.xlsx