Dr Curtis Horne has been invited to speak by the School of Geographical Sciences Marine Ecosystems and Climate (MEC) Reading Group. 

Curtis is a Postdoc at the University of Liverpool and he is particularly interested in aquatic physiology and phenotypic plasticity. His current research combines meta-analysis, modelling and experimentation to better understand and predict changes in the body size of aquatic species with warming. Further information about Curtis’ research and publications can be found at: www.curtishorne.uk. 

Curtis will be presenting on Body Size Plasticity and Temperature in Arthropods.

Body size reduction has been described as the third ‘universal’ response to climate warming. In ectotherms, individuals of the same species regularly grow to a smaller adult body size in the warm than in the cold. This near-universal biological phenomenon, known as the Temperature-Size Rule (TSR), occurs in over 80% of tested species, from bacteria and zooplankton, to fish and amphibians. Similarly, larger organisms are often found at higher colder latitudes, whilst seasonal body size variation is also common in a wide range of uni- and multicellular ectotherms that have multiple generations per year, as successive cohorts experience different environmental conditions during ontogeny. In my talk I will present a meta-analysis of these major body size gradients in arthropods, including marine, freshwater and terrestrial species. I will explore the patterns and drivers of these different body size gradients within species, assessing the degree to which they co-vary and share explanatory mechanisms. I will also introduce some of our ongoing work investigating long-term (decadal) changes in the size of zooplankton species in the Mediterranean. 

Please note this seminar is only open to University of Bristol Staff and Students.