Eat more, often: The capacity of piscivores to meet increased energy demands in warming oceans

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) profoundly disturb tropical coral reefs, imperilling species fitness and survival. Ectothermic piscivorous reef fishes are particularly vulnerable to MHWs since all aspects of their survival are dictated by ambient temperature. Severe +4°C MHWs are projected to escalate daily energy demands by ~32-55%, compelling piscivores to pursue larger or more frequent prey to survive. However, the feasibility of these responses have been questioned, as evolved predation and digestive strategies are constrained to specific prey types and sizes to safeguard residual aerobic scope (AS) during digestion for other vital processes. Instead, prevailing theory proposes appetite reductions at temperatures above optimal, preserving AS at the expense of growth and/or fitness. We investigated this dichotomy in the thermal foraging responses of Arc-eye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus) and blacktail snapper (Lutjanus fulvus), evaluating energetic demand (standard metabolic rate, SMR), AS..., Study species, collection and holding conditions
Arc-eye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus) and blacktail snapper (Lutjanus fulvus) were selected for this study. Both species adopt a ‘feast and famine’ approach to foraging (i.e., intermittently consume single large meals consisting of fish, crustaceans or other invertebrates), are from evolutionary distinct lineages (Cirrhitidae and Lutjanidae, respectively), and are found in high abundance on shallow water reefs throughout the equatorial Pacific (Armstrong & Schindler, 2011; Randall, 1998; Sheppard et al., 2017). Fish were collected with hand nets and barrier nets by scuba divers during the winter (January-March) and summer (July-September) of 2021 and 2022 from reefs around Kāneʻohe Bay on the eastern coast of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi (main collection site for L. fulvus: 21.414234, -157.784047 and P. arcatus: 21.477181, -157.791538).
Following collection, fish were transported to the Johansen Fish Resilience Laboratory at Moku o Loʻe in Kāneʻ..., , # Data from: Eat more, often: The capacity of piscivores to meet increased energy demands in warming oceans

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j3tx95xp8](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j3tx95xp8)

## Key for data set

**Pre-prandial data set:**

-ID: identification number assigned to each individual based on species and treatment

-Species: 1 = Arc-eye hawkfish (*Paracirrhites arcatus*), 2 = blacktail snapper (*Lutjanus fulvus*)

-Treatment: 1 = present-day winter (24.0±0.1°C), 2 = summer (27.5±0.1°C), and 3 = peak of simulated MHW (31.0±0.1°C)

-Mass/lnMass: represents wet weight of each individual

-SMR/lnSMR: represents the standard metabolic rate of each individual

-MMR/lnMMR: represents the maximum metabolic rate of each individual

-AS/lnAS: represents the aerobic scope of each individual

-MesorCirc/lnMesorCirc: represents the mesor of the circadian metabolic rhythm of each individual

-AmpCirc/lnAmpCirc: represents the amplitude of the circadian metabolic rhythm of each individual
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