Thermal optimum

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A thermal optimum is either a portion of a specified geological time span in which the average temperature was above that of the average temperature for the entire specified time or the optimum range within which a biological process may take place or the ambient optimal range for a species' niche.

In geology, scientists speak of a Holocene thermal optimum or maximum, for example, when referring to the warm period from 7000 to 2500 BC, in which an overall rise in average temperature is seen in evidence from ice cores and from stable isotope data. [1] [2] Scientists are interested in these periods because they may be clues to evolutionary pressures experienced by species during large spans of time.

In biology

In biology a thermal optimum describes the ideal boundaries for biological processes such as growth and development, and is usually characteristic of a species or population. Most biological processes are dependent upon enzymatic activity that can be impacted by the organism's body temperature, which in term is a function of the organism's metabolism and environment as each enzyme has a finite window in which it can function properly. An organism's niche in the environment may then be dependent upon the thermal optima for all of its necessary biological processes. [3]

In animals that inhabit the wave-tossed tidal pools of rocky shores thermal optima vary for each species and dictate the species' tolerance of environmental conditions that lead to increased heating or loss of mechanisms for cooling. For example, exposure to sunlight when the tide is out, and lack of thermal insulation from the buffering effects of water due to its specific heat capacity may contribute to increased temperature leading to increased desiccation. An organism that has a high thermal optimum may still be able to function in this environment, while one with a lower thermal optimum may have its metabolic processes shut down during the drying period of exposure. An organism may be confined to a limited range of habitats due to the population's thermal optima, while another population may have a different range of habitats open to it due to a different thermal optima for its biological processes. Ultimately the ability to adapt to greater extremes in such a harsh environment as the rocky shores where tide pools are formed may then be discussed in terms of varying environmental thermal optima for different species. [ citation needed ] Rising temperatures in the face of stable thermal optima also has implications for parasitic disease transmission and where intervention might become necessary. [4]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecological niche</span> Fit of a species living under specific environmental conditions

In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors and how it in turn alters those same factors. "The type and number of variables comprising the dimensions of an environmental niche vary from one species to another [and] the relative importance of particular environmental variables for a species may vary according to the geographic and biotic contexts".

<i>Legionella</i> Pathogenic genus of gram-negative bacteria

Legionella is a genus of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria that includes the species L. pneumophila, causing legionellosis including a pneumonia-type illness called Legionnaires' disease and a mild flu-like illness called Pontiac fever.

A mesophile is an organism that grows best in moderate temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, with an optimum growth range from 20 to 45 °C. The optimum growth temperature for these organisms is 37°C. The term is mainly applied to microorganisms. Organisms that prefer extreme environments are known as extremophiles. Mesophiles have diverse classifications, belonging to two domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and to kingdom Fungi of domain Eucarya. Mesophiles belonging to the domain Bacteria can either be gram-positive or gram-negative. Oxygen requirements for mesophiles can be aerobic or anaerobic. There are three basic shapes of mesophiles: coccus, bacillus, and spiral.

This glossary of ecology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts in ecology and related fields. For more specific definitions from other glossaries related to ecology, see Glossary of biology, Glossary of evolutionary biology, and Glossary of environmental science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermoregulation</span> Ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries

Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation. The internal thermoregulation process is one aspect of homeostasis: a state of dynamic stability in an organism's internal conditions, maintained far from thermal equilibrium with its environment. If the body is unable to maintain a normal temperature and it increases significantly above normal, a condition known as hyperthermia occurs. Humans may also experience lethal hyperthermia when the wet bulb temperature is sustained above 35 °C (95 °F) for six hours. The opposite condition, when body temperature decreases below normal levels, is known as hypothermia. It results when the homeostatic control mechanisms of heat within the body malfunction, causing the body to lose heat faster than producing it. Normal body temperature is around 37 °C (99 °F), and hypothermia sets in when the core body temperature gets lower than 35 °C (95 °F). Usually caused by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, hypothermia is usually treated by methods that attempt to raise the body temperature back to a normal range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ectotherm</span> Organism where internal heating sources are small or negligible

An ectotherm is an organism in which internal physiological sources of heat are of relatively small or of quite negligible importance in controlling body temperature. Such organisms rely on environmental heat sources, which permit them to operate at very economical metabolic rates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tide pool</span> Rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater

A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide.

Realized niche width is a phrase relating to ecology, is defined by the actual space that an organism inhabits and the resources it can access as a result of limiting pressures from other species. An organism's ecological niche is determined by the biotic and abiotic factors that make up that specific ecosystem that allow that specific organism to survive there. The width of an organism's niche is set by the range of conditions a species is able to survive in that specific environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habitat</span> Type of environment in which an organism lives

In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ecological niche. Thus "habitat" is a species-specific term, fundamentally different from concepts such as environment or vegetation assemblages, for which the term "habitat-type" is more appropriate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermal pollution</span> Water temperature changes resulting in degraded water quality

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquatic ecosystem</span> Ecosystem in a body of water

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intertidal zone</span> Area of coast exposed only at low tide

The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide. This area can include several types of habitats with various species of life, such as seastars, sea urchins, and many species of coral with regional differences in biodiversity. Sometimes it is referred to as the littoral zone or seashore, although those can be defined as a wider region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Functional ecology</span>

Functional ecology is a branch of ecology that focuses on the roles, or functions, that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. In this approach, physiological, anatomical, and life history characteristics of the species are emphasized. The term "function" is used to emphasize certain physiological processes rather than discrete properties, describe an organism's role in a trophic system, or illustrate the effects of natural selective processes on an organism. This sub-discipline of ecology represents the crossroads between ecological patterns and the processes and mechanisms that underlie them. It focuses on traits represented in large number of species and can be measured in two ways – the first being screening, which involves measuring a trait across a number of species, and the second being empiricism, which provides quantitative relationships for the traits measured in screening. Functional ecology often emphasizes an integrative approach, using organism traits and activities to understand community dynamics and ecosystem processes, particularly in response to the rapid global changes occurring in earth's environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intertidal ecology</span>

Intertidal ecology is the study of intertidal ecosystems, where organisms live between the low and high tide lines. At low tide, the intertidal is exposed whereas at high tide, the intertidal is underwater. Intertidal ecologists therefore study the interactions between intertidal organisms and their environment, as well as between different species of intertidal organisms within a particular intertidal community. The most important environmental and species interactions may vary based on the type of intertidal community being studied, the broadest of classifications being based on substrates—rocky shore and soft bottom communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky shore</span> Intertidal area of coast where solid rock predominates

A rocky shore is an intertidal area of seacoasts where solid rock predominates. Rocky shores are biologically rich environments, and are a useful "natural laboratory" for studying intertidal ecology and other biological processes. Due to their high accessibility, they have been well studied for a long time and their species are well known.

An operating temperature is the allowable temperature range of the local ambient environment at which an electrical or mechanical device operates. The device will operate effectively within a specified temperature range which varies based on the device function and application context, and ranges from the minimum operating temperature to the maximum operating temperature. Outside this range of safe operating temperatures the device may fail.

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References

  1. "Holocene Thermal Optimum". Andy May Petrophysicist. 2015-12-20. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  2. Fjeldskaar, Willy; Bondevik, Stein; Amantov, Aleksey (2018-11-01). "Glaciers on Svalbard survived the Holocene thermal optimum". Quaternary Science Reviews. 199: 18–29. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.09.003. ISSN   0277-3791. S2CID   133896714.
  3. "The Thermal Optimum". MidCurrent. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  4. Nguyen, Karena H.; Boersch-Supan, Philipp H.; Hartman, Rachel B.; Mendiola, Sandra Y.; Harwood, Valerie J.; Civitello, David J.; Rohr, Jason R. (2021-03-16). "Interventions can shift the thermal optimum for parasitic disease transmission". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (11): e2017537118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2017537118 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   7980429 . PMID   33836584.