The impact of temperature on population and community dynamics
David A. Vasseur
Abstract
Of the myriad of environmental variables that are currently in flux due to anthropogenic climate change, temperature is one of the most ubiquitous and well-studied. Temperature directly influences the vital rates and ecological thresholds that determine how quickly populations grow or decline and many studies have sought to determine how these influences culminate at the population and community level. This chapter surveys the theoretical work in this area and details how our growing understanding of the relationships between temperature and vital rates and thresholds has led to new insights and challenges. The latter sections of the chapter reveal a key principle to guide the ongoing debate about the temperature-dependence of a key parameter underlying nearly all population and community models: the carrying capacity. From this, a simple model is used to demonstrate how linkages between the thermal sensitivity of population growth and carrying capacity determine dynamics and the propensity for extinction in warming environments.