Temperature and the chemical composition of poikilothermic organisms

摘要

1. Temperature strongly affects virtually all biological rate processes, including many central to organismal fitness such as growth rate. A second factor related to growth rate is organismal chemical composition, especially C : N : P stoichiometry. This association arises because high rates of growth require disproportionate investment in N- and P-rich biosynthetic cellular structures. Here the extent to which these factors interact is examined - does acclimation temperature systematically affect organismal chemical composition?