Effects of climate and demography on reproductive phenology of a harvested marine fish population

Shifts in phenology are a well‐documented ecological response to changes in climate, which may or may not be adaptive for a species depending on the climate sensitivity of other ecosystem processes. Furthermore, phenology may be affected by factors in addition to climate, which may accentuate or dampen climate‐driven phenological responses. In this study, we investigate how climate and population demographic structure jointly affect spawning phenology of a fish species of major commercial importance: walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus). We use 32 years of data from ichthyoplankton surveys to reconstruct timing of pollock reproduction in the Gulf of Alaska and find that the mean date of spawning has varied by over 3 weeks throughout the last >3 decades. Climate clearly drives variation in spawn timing, with warmer temperatures leading to an earlier and more protracted spawning period, consistent with expectations of advanced spring phenology under warming. However, the effects of temperature were nonlinear, such that additional warming above a threshold value had no additional effect on phenology. Population demographics were equally as important as temperature: An older and more age‐diverse spawning stock tended to spawn earlier and over a longer duration than a younger stock. Our models suggest that demographic shifts associated with sustainable harvest rates could shift the mean spawning date 7 days later and shorten the spawning season by 9 days relative to an unfished population, independent of thermal conditions. Projections under climate change suggest that spawn timing will become more stable for walleye pollock in the future, but it is unknown what the consequences of this stabilization will be for the synchrony of first‐feeding larvae with production of zooplankton prey in spring. With ongoing warming in the world’s oceans, knowledge of the mechanisms underlying reproductive phenology can improve our ability to monitor and manage species under changing climate conditions.     

Interannual variation in reproductive phenology in a riverine fish assemblage: implications for predicting the effects of climate change and altered flow regimes

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Characterization of polymorphic microsatellites in the Pacific sardine Sardinops sagax sagax (Clupeidae)

We isolated 11 microsatellites from the Pacific sardine Sardinops sagax sagax. The number of alleles and H_E among 30 individuals from a single population ranged from four to 24 and from 0.606 to 0.959, respectively. Pacific sardines are a vital economic resource in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, but insufficiently polymorphic loci have limited inferences about its stock structure and genetic variation. The level of variability of these new markers will prove useful in testing hypotheses on the stock‐structure and long‐term genetic integrity of the species.     

Assessing the relative importance of temperature,discharge, and day length on the reproduction of an anadromous fish (Alosa alosa)

1. Climate change threatens anadromous fishes such as the allis shad (Alosa alosa) populations of which have declined since the 20th century in Europe. Sensitivity to climate change could be quantified by determining the fish’s spawning behaviour, defined as the timing of reproduction (i.e. spawning events) as a function of temporally variable environmental factors. The cues that fish use to time reproduction could determine their response to climate change.
2. A machine learning technique (boosted regression tree) was calibrated using a 14-year dataset composed of daily measures of environmental factors and fish occurrences during reproduction. The boosted regression tree provides complete insight into the complex relationship between the spawning probability, i.e. the probability for a fish to reproduce, and environmental factors that might evolve with climate change.
3. The spawning probability was positively related to day length (44.6%) and water temperature (34.7%) and negatively related to river discharge (20.7%). Optimal reproductive conditions corresponded to a difference in day length between 0 and 0.04 hr, a water temperature between 15 and 26°C and a river discharge between 55 and 665 m³/s; these conditions are currently being utilised by allis shad populations in the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, France.
4. This study highlights the relative influence of environmental factors on the observed spawning period as well as the evolution of habitat suitability during the 14-year period. The novelty of this study stems from assessing population process data, i.e. the occurrence of fish reproduction, rather than mere occurrence data in an ecological niche model study. Climate change may lead to a shift in spawning phenology, as the water temperature and river discharge will also change. Therefore, conservation plans need to integrate these effects on spawning grounds.

     

Climate change impacts on mismatches between phytoplankton blooms and fish spawning phenology

Substantial interannual variability in marine fish recruitment (i.e., the number of young fish entering a fishery each year) has been hypothesized to be related to whether the timing of fish spawning matches that of seasonal plankton blooms. Environmental processes that control the phenology of blooms, such as stratification, may differ from those that influence fish spawning, such as temperature‐linked reproductive maturation. These different controlling mechanisms could cause the timing of these events to diverge under climate change with negative consequences for fisheries. We use an earth system model to examine the impact of a high‐emissions, climate‐warming scenario (RCP8.5) on the future spawning time of two classes of temperate, epipelagic fishes: “geographic spawners” whose spawning grounds are defined by fixed geographic features (e.g., rivers, estuaries, reefs) and “environmental spawners” whose spawning grounds move responding to variations in environmental properties, such as temperature. By the century's end, our results indicate that projections of increased stratification cause spring and summer phytoplankton blooms to start 16 days earlier on average (±0.05 days SE) at latitudes >40°N. The temperature‐linked phenology of geographic spawners changes at a rate twice as fast as phytoplankton, causing these fishes to spawn before the bloom starts across >85% of this region. “Extreme events,” defined here as seasonal mismatches >30 days that could lead to fish recruitment failure, increase 10‐fold for geographic spawners in many areas under the RCP8.5 scenario. Mismatches between environmental spawners and phytoplankton were smaller and less widespread, although sizable mismatches still emerged in some regions. This indicates that range shifts undertaken by environmental spawners may increase the resiliency of fishes to climate change impacts associated with phenological mismatches, potentially buffering against declines in larval fish survival, recruitment, and fisheries. Our model results are supported by empirical evidence from ecosystems with multidecadal observations of both fish and phytoplankton phenology.     

Integrating fish and parasite data as a holistic solution for identifying the elusive stock structure of Pacific sardines (Sardinops sagax)

There is an urgent need to clarify how different stocks, or subpopulations of fish species, are vulnerable to fishing pressure and unfavorable ocean conditions because of the increasing demand on fisheries for human consumption. For marine fishes, the potential for high gene flow increases the difficulty in determining the number of subpopulations managed in a specific fishery. Although the use of molecular data has become a common method in the past 15 years to identify fish subpopulations, no single technique or suite of techniques has been established for fish stock structure studies. We review the use of fish morphometrics, artificial tags, fish genetics, parasite genetics, and parasites as biological tags to identify subpopulations of marine fishes with a focus on the Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) fishery off the west coast of North America. We suggest an integration of fish- and parasite-based techniques for future stock structure studies, particularly for pelagic fish species whose stock structure can be elusive. An integration of techniques may also resolve fish stock structure over small geographic areas by increasing the number of spatial and temporal scales studied simultaneously leading to methods for successful management of marine fish species.     

Australian bird phenology: a search for climate signals

Temporal and climate‐related changes in avian phenology were assessed for seven species of south‐eastern Australia using data obtained from members of the public, naturalist groups and other organizations. Despite significantly warmer temperatures (～0.02–0.03°C per year) and reduced rainfall (～1.6–8.0 mm per year) over much of south‐eastern Australia in recent decades, most species showed no corresponding trends in their timing of migration or breeding, the notable exceptions being the grey fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) and the flame robin (Petroica phoenicea), which migrate through Melbourne, Victoria, during autumn and spring. In many species, however, migration or breeding timing appeared to be influenced to some extent by local, rather than regional, climate conditions, particularly local daily maximum and minimum temperatures. Whether these species will noticeably change their phenology to match projected changes in climate, perhaps when a currently unknown climate threshold is crossed, or whether these species are sufficiently flexible in their foraging strategies or food sources to be able to maintain their current timing, remains to be seen.     

Changes in spring arrival of Nearctic-Neotropical migrants attributed to multiscalar climate

Climate-related changes associated with the California marine ecosystem have been documented; however, there are no studies assessing changes in terrestrial vertebrate phenology on the Pacific coast of western North America. We analyze the spring phenology of 21 Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbird species in central and northern CA. Using observational and banding data at multiple sites, we evaluate evidence for a change in arrival timing being linked to either nonclimatic or multiscalar climatic explanations. Using correlation analysis, of the 13 species with a significant ( P <0.10) change in arrival, the arrival timing of 10 species (77%) is associated with both temperature and a large-scale climate oscillation index (El Niño Southern Oscillation, ENSO; North Atlantic Oscillation, NAO; and/or Pacific Decadal Oscillation, PDO) at least at one location. Eight of the 13 species (62%) are advancing their migratory timing. All species for which spring arrival is associated with climate at multiple locations are exhibiting changes ( n =5) and all species lacking evidence for association between migration phenology and climate ( n =3) exhibit no change. Migrants tend to arrive earlier in association with warmer temperatures, positive NAO indices, and stronger ENSO indices. Twelve species negatively correlate ( P ≤0.05) with local or regional temperature at least at one location; five species negatively correlate with ENSO. Eleven species' arrival is correlated ( P ≤0.05) with NAO; 10 are negatively associated. After an exhaustive literature search, this is apparently the first documentation of an association between NAO and migratory phenology in western North America.     

Phenological changes in intertidal con‐specific gastropods in response to climate warming

There is substantial evidence from terrestrial and freshwater systems of species responding to climate change through changes in their phenology. In the marine environment, however, there is less evidence. Using historic (1946–1949) and contemporary (2003–2007) data, collected from rocky shores of south‐west Britain, we investigated the affect of recent climate warming on the reproductive phenology of two con‐specific intertidal limpet grazers, with cool/boreal and warm/lusitanian centres of distribution. Reproductive development in the southern limpet, Patella depressa, has advanced, on average, 10.2 days per decade since the 1940s, with a longer reproductive season and more of the population reproductively active. The peak in the proportion of the population in advanced stages of gonad development was positively correlated with sea surface temperature (SST) in late spring/early summer, which has increased between the 1940s and 2000s. The advance in peak reproductive development of this species is double the average observed for terrestrial and freshwater systems and indicates, along with other studies, that marine species may be responding faster to climate warming. In contrast, the northern limpet, Patella vulgata, has experienced a delay in the timing of its reproductive development (on average 3.3 days per decade), as well as an increase in reproductive failure years and a reduction in the proportion of the population reaching advanced gonad stages. These results are the first to demonstrate a delay in the reproductive development of a cool‐temperate, winter spawner, towards cooler more favourable environmental conditions in response to climate warming. Such a delay in spawning will potentially lead to trophic miss‐matches, resulting in a rapid nonlinear decline of this species.     

Life history strategy of sandy sprat Hyperlophus vittatus (Clupeidae): a comparison with clupeoids of the Indo-Pacific and southern Australia

The life history strategy of sandy sprat (whitebait) Hyperlophus vittatus was compared to those of other clupeoids found in the Indo‐Pacific and southern Australia. Hyperlophus vittatus is a small (100 mm, fork‐length, FL) pelagic species that spawns in inshore waters of southern Australia. The average growth rate for larvae (20.1–27.6 mm, total length, TL) inside the Coorong Lagoon was 0.12 mm day⁻¹. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters were k = 1.83 year⁻¹ and L_∞ = 78.10 mm and the oldest fish was ∼4 years of age. Males and females attained 50% sexual maturity at 59 and 58 mm FL, respectively, and all individuals were sexually mature at lengths ≥75 mm, at ∼1.5 years of age. Macroscopic gonad staging showed the spawning season extended from October to February (spring and summer) and peaked during November. Mean egg densities were highest between September and November. Females produced batches of pelagic eggs at a mean frequency of 5 days and batch fecundities ranged between 743 and 5600 hydrated oocytes. The life history of H. vittatus is similar to those of larger, iteroparous clupeoids that occur in southern temperate Australian waters, e.g. sardine Sardinops sagax and Australian anchovy Engraulis australis, and dissimilar to those of small tropical clupeoids and the sympatric blue sprat Spratelloides robustus, which is semelparous.     

Biological features of the common fish species in Olyutorsky-Navarin region and the adjacent waters of the Bering Sea: 2. Families Macrouridae,Clupeidae, and Osmeridae

Biological features of the four common fish species, giant grenadier Albatrossia pectoralis (Macrouridae), Pacific herring Clupea pallasii (Clupeidae), Pacific rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax dentex, and Pacific capelin Mallotus villosus catervarius (Osmeridae), were studied under the 20-year dataset (1995?2015). These species inhabit the northwestern Bering Sea in the summer–autumn period and form the schoolings in the Olyutorsky-Navarin region. The size–age parameters of the fish caught by different sampling gear, as well as the peculiarities of the body length and body weight dynamics, spawning periods, spawning range, and conditions, were analyzed. The largest specimens of giant grenadier, Pacific herring, and Pacific rainbow smelt were observed in the catches performed by the bottom setline and the gill nets; the smallest fish were found in the trawl catches. The body length and body weight of Pacific herring were larger in the pelagic trawls compared to the bottom trawls; an opposite pattern was observed for the Pacific capelin. The abundant year-class in the species with short life cycle (capelin and herring) is well tracked on the longterm plots of the fish body size; this is accompanied by the decrease of their biological parameters. Herring stock covers large growing grounds; smaller body size was observed for the herring grazing in the coastal waters; young specimens dominate here.     

Annual gametogenic cycle of the freshwater pearl mussel,Lamellidens marginalis (Lamarck, 1819) collected from a perennial lentic habitat of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

We investigated the annual gametogenic phenology of the freshwater pearl mussel, Lamellidens marginalis (Lamarck, 1819), collected from a lentic habitat at Mymensingh, Bangladesh, using biometry and histology through monthly sampling from August 2015 to July 2016. After biometric measurements, thin slices of dorso-ventral sections were cut from the middle of the mussels for histology to determine sex and level of gonadal maturation. The condition index (CI) ranged from 0.64 (March) to 0.99 (January) over the study period. The CI peaked three times (January, April and July) indicating that the mussels were ripe during these months and subsequent decreases in CI indicated spawning, which was consistent with histology. Both males and females exhibited similar patterns in terms of gonadal development, maturation and spawning activity. It was confirmed that natural populations of L. marginalis spawn throughout the year with remarkable temporal variations, except during December when the surface water temperature reaches annual minima (16.5°C). Highest spawning activity of L. marginalis was noted during February–March, May and July–November. The data obtained in the present study could be useful for the conservation managers of this commercial species by allowing harvesting of better quality mussels to be timed without interrupting major spawning activity.     

Herbarium records identify sensitivity of flowering phenology of eucalypts to climate: Implications for species response to climate change

Flowering phenology is very sensitive to climate and with increasing global warming the flowering time of plants is shifting to earlier or later dates. Changes in flowering times may affect species reproductive success, associated phenological events, species synchrony, and community composition. Long‐term data on phenological events can provide key insights into the impacts of climate on phenology. For Australia, however, limited data availability restricts our ability to assess the impacts of climate change on plant phenology. To address this limitation other data sources must be explored such as the use of herbarium specimens to conduct studies on flowering phenology. This study uses herbarium specimens for investigating the flowering phenology of five dominant and commercially important Eucalyptus species of south‐eastern Australia and the consequences of climate variability and change on flowering phenology. Relative to precipitation and air humidity, mean temperature of the preceding 3 months was the most influential factor on the flowering time for all species. In response to a temperature increment of 1°C, a shift in the timing of flowering of 14.1–14.9 days was predicted for E. microcarpa and E. tricarpa while delays in flowering of 11.3–15.5 days were found for E. obliqua, E. radiata and E. polyanthemos. Eucalyptus polyanthemos exhibited the greatest sensitivity to climatic variables. The study demonstrates that herbarium data can be used to detect climatic signals on flowering phenology for species with a long flowering duration, such as eucalypts. The robust relationship identified between temperature and flowering phenology indicates that shifts in flowering times will occur under predicted climate change which may affect reproductive success, fitness, plant communities and ecosystems.     

Long‐term changes in the impacts of global warming on leaf phenology of four temperate tree species

Contrary to the generally advanced spring leaf unfolding under global warming, the effects of the climate warming on autumn leaf senescence are highly variable with advanced, delayed, and unchanged patterns being all reported. Using one million records of leaf phenology from four dominant temperate species in Europe, we investigated the temperature sensitivities of spring leaf unfolding and autumn leaf senescence (S_T, advanced or delayed days per degree Celsius). The S_T of spring phenology in all of the four examined species showed an increase and decrease during 1951–1980 and 1981–2013, respectively. The decrease in the S_T during 1981–2013 appears to be caused by reduced accumulation of chilling units. As with spring phenology, the S_T of leaf senescence of early successional and exotic species started to decline since 1980. In contrast, for late successional species, the S_T of autumn senescence showed an increase for the entire study period from 1951 to 2013. Moreover, the impacts of rising temperature associated with global warming on spring leaf unfolding were stronger than those on autumn leaf senescence. The timing of leaf senescence was positively correlated with the timing of leaf unfolding during 1951–1980. However, as climate warming continued, the differences in the responses between spring and autumn phenology gradually increased, so that the correlation was no more significant during 1981–2013. Our results further suggest that since 2000, due to the decreased temperature sensitivity of leaf unfolding the length of the growing season has not increased any more. These finding needs to be addressed in vegetation models used for assessing the effects of climate change.     

Host–parasite interactions and vectors in the barn swallow in relation to climate change

Recent climate change has affected the phenology of numerous species, and such differential changes may affect host–parasite interactions. Using information on vectors (louseflies, mosquitoes, blackflies) and parasites (tropical fowl mite Ornithonyssus bursa, the lousefly Ornithomyia avicularia, a chewing louse Brueelia sp., two species of feather mites Trouessartia crucifera and Trouessartia appendiculata, and two species of blood parasites Leucozytozoon whitworthi and Haemoproteus prognei) of the barn swallow Hirundo rustica collected during 1971–2008, I analyzed temporal changes in emergence and abundance, relationships with climatic conditions, and changes in the fitness impact of parasites on their hosts. Temperature and rainfall during the summer breeding season of the host increased during the study. The intensity of infestation by mites decreased, but increased for the lousefly during 1982–2008. The prevalence of two species of blood parasites increased during 1988–2008. The timing of first mass emergence of mosquitoes and blackflies advanced. These temporal changes in phenology and abundance of parasites and vectors could be linked to changes in temperature, but less so to changes in precipitation. Parasites had fitness consequences for hosts because intensity of the mite and the chewing louse was significantly associated with delayed breeding of the host, while a greater abundance of feather mites was associated with earlier breeding. Reproductive success of the host decreased with increasing abundance of the chewing louse. The temporal decrease in mite abundance was associated with advanced breeding of the host, while the increase in abundance of the lousefly was associated with earlier breeding. Virulence by the tropical fowl mite decreased with increasing temperature, independent of confounding factors. These findings suggest that climate change affects parasite species differently, hence altering the composition of the parasite community, and that climate change causes changes in the virulence of parasites. Because the changing phenology of different species of parasites had both positive and negative effects on their hosts, and because the abundance of some parasites increased, while that of other decreased, there was no consistent temporal change in host fitness during 1971–2008.     

Asynchronicity in root and shoot phenology in grasses and woody plants

Phenology is central to understanding vegetation response to climate change, as well as vegetation effects on plant resources, but most temporal production data is based on shoots, especially those of trees. In contrast, most production in temperate and colder regions is belowground, and is frequently dominated by grasses. We report root and shoot phenology in 7‐year old monocultures of 10 dominant species (five woody species, five grasses) in southern Canada. Woody shoot production was greatest about 8 weeks before the peak of root production, whereas grass shoot maxima preceded root maxima by 2–4 weeks. Over the growing season, woody root, and grass root and shoot production increased significantly with soil temperature. In contrast, the timing of woody shoot production was not related to soil temperature (r=0.01). The duration of root production was significantly greater than that of shoot production (grasses: 22%, woody species: 54%). Woody species produced cooler and moister soils than grasses, but growth forms did not affect seasonal patterns of soil conditions. Although woody shoots are the current benchmark for phenology studies, the other three components examined here (woody plant roots, grass shoots and roots) differed greatly in peak production time, as well as production duration. These results highlight that shoot and root phenology is not coincident, and further, that major plant growth forms differ in their timing of above‐ and belowground production. Thus, considering total plant phenology instead of only tree shoot phenology should provide a better understanding of ecosystem response to climate change.     

Temperature record in the oxygen stable isotopes of Pacific sardine otoliths: Experimental vs. wild stocks from the Southern California Bight

Pacific sardines (Sardinops sagax) are commercially fished in Canada, USA, and Mexico along approximately 5000 km of coastal waters that experience a wide range of temperatures. Trinational management of the species can be problematic because the connectivity between spawning, recruitment, stock residency, and migration in some years may not be well predicted. Oxygen isotopic value of otoliths (δ¹⁸O_otolith) has been used to infer stock residency and movement of fish populations within regions, but few studies have used laboratory data to establish a predictive temperature model to validate δ¹⁸O_otolith values of wild fish. We conducted a growth experiment with juveniles at different temperatures using Southern California Bight (SCB) seawater to test the assumption that Pacific sardine otoliths accurately record environmental water temperature in the presence of constant salinity. Sardine δ¹⁸O_otolith values were significantly and negatively correlated with temperature according to the linear model:

δ¹⁸Ootolith(‰)−δ¹⁸Owater(‰)=−0.132(±0.003 SE)×Temperature(°C)+2.455(±0.043 SE)     

Ecotypic differences in the phenology of the tundra species Eriophorum vaginatum reflect sites of origin

Eriophorum vaginatum is a tussock‐forming sedge that contributes significantly to the structure and primary productivity of moist acidic tussock tundra. Locally adapted populations (ecotypes) have been identified across the geographical distribution of E. vaginatum; however, little is known about how their growth and phenology differ over the course of a growing season. The growing season is short in the Arctic and therefore exerts a strong selection pressure on tundra species. This raises the hypothesis that the phenology of arctic species may be poorly adapted if the timing and length of the growing season change. Mature E. vaginatum tussocks from across a latitudinal gradient (65–70°N) were transplanted into a common garden at a central location (Toolik Lake, 68°38′N, 149°36′W) where half were warmed using open‐top chambers. Over two growing seasons (2015 and 2016), leaf length was measured weekly to track growth rates, timing of senescence, and biomass accumulation. Growth rates were similar across ecotypes and between years and were not affected by warming. However, southern populations accumulated significantly more biomass, largely because they started to senesce later. In 2016, peak biomass and senescence of most populations occurred later than in 2015, probably induced by colder weather at the beginning of the growing season in 2016, which caused a delayed start to growth. The finish was delayed as well. Differences in phenology between populations were largely retained between years, suggesting that the amount of time that these ecotypes grow has been selected by the length of the growing seasons at their respective home sites. As potential growing seasons lengthen, E. vaginatum may be unable to respond appropriately as a result of genetic control and may have reduced fitness in the rapidly warming Arctic tundra.     

Potential changes to the biology and challenges to the management of invasive sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus in the Laurentian Great Lakes due to climate change

Control programs are implemented to mitigate the damage caused by invasive species worldwide. In the highly invaded Great Lakes, the climate is expected to become warmer with more extreme weather and variable precipitation, resulting in shorter iced‐over periods and variable tributary flows as well as changes to pH and river hydrology and hydrogeomorphology. We review how climate change influences physiology, behavior, and demography of a damaging invasive species, sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), in the Great Lakes, and the consequences for sea lamprey control efforts. Sea lamprey control relies on surveys to monitor abundance of larval sea lamprey in Great Lakes tributaries. The abundance of parasitic, juvenile sea lampreys in the lakes is calculated by surveying wounding rates on lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), and trap surveys are used to enumerate adult spawning runs. Chemical control using lampricides (i.e., lamprey pesticides) to target larval sea lamprey and barriers to prevent adult lamprey from reaching spawning grounds are the most important tools used for sea lamprey population control. We describe how climate change could affect larval survival in rivers, growth and maturation in lakes, phenology and the spawning migration as adults return to rivers, and the overall abundance and distribution of sea lamprey in the Great Lakes. Our review suggests that Great Lakes sea lamprey may benefit from climate change with longer growing seasons, more rapid growth, and greater access to spawning habitat, but uncertainties remain about the future availability and suitability of larval habitats. Consideration of the biology of invasive species and adaptation of the timing, intensity, and frequency of control efforts is critical to the management of biological invasions in a changing world, such as sea lamprey in the Great Lakes.     

Life-history traits of lake plankton species may govern their phenological response to climate warming

A prominent response of temperate aquatic ecosystems to climate warming is changes in phenology – advancements or delays in annually reoccurring events in an organism's life cycle. The exact seasonal timing of warming, in conjunction with species-specific life-history events such as emergence from resting stages, timing of spawning, generation times, or stage-specific prey requirements, may determine the nature of a species' response. We demonstrate that recent climate-induced shifts in the phenology of lake phytoplankton and zooplankton species in a temperate eutrophic lake (Müggelsee, Germany) differed according to differences in their characteristic life cycles. Fast-growing plankton in spring (diatoms, Daphnia ) showed significant and synchronous forward movements by about 1 month, induced by concurrent earlier ice break-up dates (diatoms) and higher spring water temperature ( Daphnia ). No such synchrony was observed for slow-growing summer zooplankton species with longer and more complex life cycles (copepods, larvae of the mussel Dreissena polymorpha ). Although coexisting, the summer plankton responded species specifically to seasonal warming trends, depending on whether the timing of warming matched their individual thermal requirements at decisive developmental stages such as emergence from diapause (copepods), or spawning ( Dreissena ). Others did not change their phenology significantly, but nevertheless, increased in abundances. We show that the detailed seasonal pattern of warming influences the response of phyto- and zooplankton species to climate change, and point to the diverse nature of responses for species exhibiting complex life-history traits.