Does thermal history influence thermal tolerance of the freshwater fish Galaxias zebratus in a global biodiversity hotspot?

摘要

Compared to other climate regions of the world, Mediterranean regions are likely to experience more severe effects of climate change as rainfall decreases and temperatures increase. Global climate change models predict a reduction in rainfall and rise in the temperature of rivers in South Africa's Cape Fold Ecoregion (CFE) - a Mediterranean region in the south-west corner of the country. In the climate change context and with the prediction that stream temperatures will increase, determining thermal thresholds of freshwater fish in relation to their thermal history is a key element in understanding the potential impacts climate change and a rise in stream temperatures will have on already threatened freshwater fish.