M. Cuculescu et al., THERMAL TOLERANCE OF 2 SPECIES OF MARINE CRAB, CANCER-PAGURUS AND CARCINUS-MAENAS, Journal of thermal biology, 23(2), 1998, pp. 107-110
The critical thermal maxima of adult Carcinus maenas and Cancer paguru
s have been determined. The CTMax for the eurythermal C. maenas were s
ignificantly higher than for the stenothermal C. pagurus at each accli
mation condition, as would be predicted. Acclimation had a significant
effect in both species, with 22 degrees C acclimated crabs having sig
nificantly higher CTMax than 8 degrees C acclimated crabs. The acclima
tion ability (AAR response) was greater in C. pagurus than in C. maena
s, suggesting that the ability for acclimation is not directly related
to eurythermicity. There was a marked seasonal effect on CTMax in bot
h species. The CTMax of winter caught crabs was significantly lower th
an in summer or autumn caught animals, a difference that persisted irr
espective of laboratory acclimation status. (C) 1998 Published by Else
vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.