Positive associations between the cushion plant Azorella monantha (Apiaceae) and alpine plant species in the Chilean Patagonian Andes

Low growing, compact cushion plants are a common and often dominant life form in temperate and subpolar alpine habitats. The cushion life-form can modify wind patterns, temperature and water availability and thus cushion species could be expected to act as nurse-plants facilitating the establishment of other alpine plant species on their surfaces. It has been suggested that the nurse effect should be most pronounced under more stressful environmental conditions, as found with increasing elevation in the alpine. One of the approaches used to detect the nurses has been the study of spatial associations among species, in which extreme clumping within or beneath one species has been interpreted as evidence of nursing. We characterized microclimatic conditions (soil and air temperature) within and outside cushions of Azorella monantha at two elevations (700 m a.s.l., corresponding to an elevation just above treeline, and 900 m a.s.l., corresponding to the upper limit of the cushion belt zone) on Cerro Diente in the Patagonian alpine of southern South America (50° S) and recorded all plant species growing upon cushions of various sizes and for paired sampling areas of equivalent sizes outside cushions. At 5 cm depth, soil temperature was slightly higher under cushions than under bare ground, but only significantly so at 900 m. Air temperature at ground level was significantly higher in the cushion microhabitat at both 700 m and 900 m, with the difference being more exaggerated at the highest elevation. At 700 m, a total of 27 species were recorded growing within cushions as compared to 29 outside cushions. At 900 m the corresponding numbers were 34 and 18. At the highest elevation, significantly more species grow within cushions than for equal areas outside cushions. Here moreover, 17 (48.6%) species grew preferentially within cushions, with eight of the latter being limited to the cushion microhabitat at this elevation. However, at 700 m there was no significant difference in species richness in the two microhabitats, and only one species (3.1%) grew preferentially on cushions. Considering individual species, nine occurring at both elevations showed non-preferential recruitment on cushions at 700 m, but significantly higher frequencies on cushions at 900 m. Results suggest striking altitudinal variation in the association with Azorella monantha on Cerro Diente, ranging from a very strong at 900 m to near absence at 700 m. Milder air and soil temperatures, shelter from wind, and greater water availability within cushions as opposed to outside cushions are discussed as possible factors favoring strong plant recruitment on cushions at higher elevations in the harsh Patagonian alpine environment. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Variation and response to experimental warming in a New Zealand cushion plant species

Cold adapted plants, such as cushion plants, may be particularly sensitive to climate warming because of their compact growth form and high branch density. In the oceanic southern hemisphere, cushion communities tend to have large range distributions at low latitudes (sea level to low alpine), thus providing an opportunity to test the effects of temperature on plant morphology and reproduction across gradients. Using Donatia novae‐zelandiae as a model species, we compared the leaf morphology, reproduction and responses to warming. Two low‐alpine sites (Maungatua (880 m a.s.l.), Blue Mountains (1000 m a.s.l.)) and two sea‐level sites (Waituna 1 (0 m a.s.l.), Waituna 2 (0 m a.s.l.)) in South Island, New Zealand were used. Donatia novae‐zelandiae cushions differed significantly between the high‐elevation and sea‐level sites both morphologically and in terms of reproduction. High‐elevation cushions produced more flowers (threefold more flowers per plant) and seeds (sevenfold more seeds per capsule) than at sea level, but leaves were larger at sea level (in length and specific leaf area). The cushions were also twice as compact at the high‐elevation sites. After two growing seasons of artificial warming, seed production (35%), leaf length (7%) and width (13%), and specific leaf area (63%) significantly decreased in D. novae‐zelandiae plants; flower production was not significantly affected. Cushion plant morphology and reproduction were significantly affected by environmental drivers at their establishment sites, but all populations responded negatively to artificial warming of 1–3°C. Many cushion plants are considered keystone species because of their propensity to facilitate the growth and establishment of other plant species, the inferred negative effects of global warming on cushion plant species may have a cascading effect on other alpine plant groups.     

Variation of biomass and morphology of the cushion plant Androsace tapete along an elevational gradient in the Tibetan Plateau

Alpine ecosystems are among those biomes that are most vulnerable to climate change. Cushion plants are an important life form of alpine ecosystems and will likely play a critical role for the resilience of these habitats to climate change. We studied cushion size distribution and different measures of the compactness of cushions (biomass and rosette density, leaf area index) of the cushion plant, Androsace tapete along an elevational gradient from 4500 to 5200 m a.s.l. in the Nyainqentanglha Mountains of the central Tibetan Plateau. Cushion size distribution, total cover, and compactness of cushions varied substantially along the elevational gradient. At the driest site at low elevation we found the lowest total cushion cover, a particularly high proportion of very small cushions, and the most compact cushions (highest rosette and biomass densities, and leaf area index (LAI) per cushion). Our results indicate that in the semi‐arid Tibetan Plateau water availability is the more important climate factor than temperature affecting cushion plant traits and morphology.     

Response to simulated climatic change in an alpine and subarctic pollen-risk strategist, Silene acaulis

The aim of this study was to test if early flowering species respond with increased seed production to climate warming as is predicted for late-flowering seed-risk strategists. Experimental climate warming of about 3°C was applied to two populations of the cushion-forming plant Silene acaulis (L.) Jacq. The experiment was run at one subarctic site and one alpine site for 2 years and 1 year, respectively, using open-top chambers (OTC).
The 2-year temperature enhancement at the subarctic site had a marked effect on the flowering phenology. Cushions inside the OTC started flowering substantially earlier than control cushions. Both the male and female phases developed faster in the OTCs, and maturation of capsules occurred earlier. The cushions also responded positively in reproductive terms and produced more mature seeds and had a higher seed/ovule ratio. After 1 year temperature enhancement at the alpine site there was a weak trend for earlier flowering, but there was no significant difference in seed production or seed/ovule ratio.     

Positive interactions between alpine plant species and the nurse cushion plant Laretia acaulis do not increase with elevation in the Andes of central Chile

In alpine habitats, positive interactions among plants tend to increase with elevation as a result of altitudinal increase in environmental harshness. However, in mountains located in arid zones, lower elevations are also stressful because of scarce availability of water, suggesting that positive interactions may not necessarily increase with elevation. Here we analysed the spatial association of plant species with the nurse cushion plant Laretia acaulis at two contrasting elevations, and monitored the survival of seedlings of two species experimentally planted within and outside cushions in the semiarid Andes of central Chile. Positive spatial associations with cushions were more frequent at lower elevations. Species growing at the two elevations changed the nature of their association with cushions from neutral or negative at higher elevations to positive at lower elevations. Survival of seedlings was higher within cushions, particularly at lower elevations. The increased facilitation by cushions at lower elevations seems to be related to provision of moisture. This result suggests that cushion plants play a critical role in structuring alpine plant communities at lower elevations, and that climatic changes in rainfall could be very relevant for persistence of plant communities.     

Leaf rosette closure in the alpine rock species Saxifraga paniculata Mill.: significance for survival of drought and heat under high irradiation

The significance of leaf rosette closure for survival of drought and heat under high irradiation on alpine rock sites was investigated in the cushion forming rosette plant, Saxifraga paniculata Mill. With decreasing water content the leaves fold over the rosette centre reducing reversibly the evaporative leaf surface area by 80%. Internal water redistribution driven by an osmotic gradient from older to younger leaves occurs. The oldest leaves dry out to promote the survival of the individual. Leaf temperatures above 45 °C (which match heat tolerance limits 45–57 °C; LT₅₀) co-occurred with low substrate water potentials (less than – 0·5 MPa) on 11·3% of summer days. Shading by leaves can be crucial to surviving high temperatures as it keeps the rosette centre up to 10 °C colder. Mutual shading prevented sustained drought-induced photoinhibition in upper leaf surfaces at relative water contents below 60%. In exposed lower leaf surfaces restoration of photosystem II took several days. Leaf temperatures above 40 °C (21·3% of summer days) induced photoinhibition in situ. Periods with sufficient water supply can be fully utilized as rehydration is fast ( < 12 h) and exposes the upper leaf surfaces that showed only minor photoinhibition. By reversible leaf rosette closure environmental extremes that otherwise could exceed tolerance are efficiently avoided.     

Fine nurse variations explain discrepancies in the stress‐interaction relationship in alpine regions

Despite a large consensus on increasing facilitation among plants with increasing stress in alpine regions, a number of different outcomes of interaction have been observed, which impedes the generalisation of the ‘stress‐gradient hypothesis’ (SGH). With the aim to reconcile the different viewpoints on the stress‐interaction relationship in alpine environments we hypothesized that fine nurse variations within a single life form (cushion) may explain this pattern variability. To test this hypothesis, we compared the magnitude of the stress‐interaction relationship in a single study area with that observed in existing studies involving cushions, worldwide. We characterized the nurse effects of cushions on the whole plant community at inter‐specific, intra‐specific and intra‐individual levels along a stress gradient in the dry, alpine tropics of Bolivia (4400 m, 4700 m and 4900 m a.s.l). Using a relative index of interaction (RII) we included our data in a meta‐analysis on the nurse effects of cushions along alpine gradients, worldwide. At inter‐specific level, the loose cushion Pycnophyllum was a better nurse than the compact Azorella compacta. However, at intra‐individual level facilitation was higher at the periphery than at the centre of cushions, exceeding in magnitude the variation observed at inter‐specific level. This pattern was associated with higher minimum temperature and lower mortality at the periphery of cushions. The net effects of cushions on plant communities became more positive at higher elevation, corroborating the SGH. Within our single site in Bolivia, fine morphological nurse variations captured a similar variability in the stress‐interaction relationship as that observed in a subset of studies on cushions on a worldwide scale. This suggests that fine variations in nurse traits, in general those not considered in protocols dealing with facilitation or in restoration/conservation management plans, explain in part the current discrepancies among SGH studies in alpine regions.     

Plant mitochondria electron partitioning is independent of short-term temperature changes

We tested the hypotheses that relative activity of the less efficient alternative oxidase (AOX) path changes with diurnal temperature changes, and thus changes carbon use efficiency with temperature. The activities of the alternative and cytochrome oxidase (COX) paths in plant tissues of three species were determined by measuring ¹⁸O/¹⁶O discrimination and total respiration from 17 to 36 °C. A new, more accurate method for calculating oxygen uptake rate from the mass spectrometry data was developed. Total carbon use efficiency was calculated from the ratio of respiratory heat and CO₂ rates measured from 10 to 35 °C. Oxygen isotope discrimination (22.9 ± 0.4‰) and AOX participation were invariant with temperature in leaf tissue of Cucurbita pepo , Nicotiana sativa and Vicia faba , thus falsifying the first part of the hypothesis. Stress responses of respiration at the temperature extremes limited the range for which carbon use efficiency could be accurately measured to 15–30 °C in N. sativa , to 10–25 °C in C. pepo and to 20–30 °C in V. faba . Carbon-use efficiency was invariant at these temperatures in these species, demonstrating that changes in other pathways that would vary carbon-use efficiency were also invariant with temperature.     

Cold tolerance of the aphid predator Episyrphus balteatus (DeGeer) (Diptera, Syrphidae)

Abstract. Larvae of the hoverfiy Episyrphus balteatus (DeGeer) are important predators of aphids in the U.K. A large proportion of the U.K. population migrates south to warmer climes at the end of summer, but a small number are thought to overwinter in the U.K., with the mated female being the overwintering morph. The cold tolerance of adult flies was investigated to assess the overwintering potential of E. balteatus in the U.K. The high supercooling point (SCP) of -8.3 ± 0.7°C, and lethal temperature (LTemp₃₀) of -9.1°C for acclimated females suggest that E. balteatus has limited cold hardiness. This was confirmed by experiments where, despite a strong acclimation response in both males and females, there was no long-term survival at 5, 0 or - 5°C. At 5°C, 90% of females had died after 10 days. The weak cold hardiness of adult E. balteatus was corroborated by field experiments which demonstrated a 100% mortality after 10 weeks' exposure to U.K. winter conditions. The ecological significance of this limited cold hardiness is discussed in relation to the overwintering abilities of E. balteatus in the U.K.     

Energy balance and temperature relations of Azorella compacta, a high-elevation cushion plant of the central Andes

The environmental relationships and ecophysiology of Azorella compacta, a giant cushion plant, were investigated in Parque Nacional Lauca, Chile (18°10'–18°25' S and 69°16' W, 4400 m asl). The diurnal temperature range can reach 42 °C on some days of the year. The surface temperature of A. compacta was 13 °C below that of the air temperature of −7 °C at dawn, but from midmorning to late afternoon, the plant surface temperature remained within a few degrees of the air temperature. Soil surface temperatures did not differ between north- and south-facing slopes, but a model showed an increase in radiation reception by north-facing slopes throughout most of the year. Gas exchange measurements of A. compacta measured at the onset of the wet season ranged from −0.6662 to 11.4 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, and maximum stomatal conductance (Gs) was 410 mmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. The estimated light compensation point was 89 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ and estimated light saturation occurred at about 1280 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. Diurnal water potential measurements for A. compacta ranged from −1.67 to −2.65 MPa. This is one of the first ecophysiological studies of a tropical alpine cushion plant.     

Seasonal changes in the habitat use and movements of adult European grayling in a large subarctic river

In late summer (13 August–13 September 1998), at water temperatures of 12·0–15·7° C, grayling ( n =14) stayed mainly in the riffle-section where they were captured in a large regulated river in northern Finland, moving little between consecutive days. In autumn (2–30 October 1998), at 1·7–6·7° C, the fish ( n =16) migrated to potential overwintering sites 0–14 km up- or downstream by mid October, moving mainly short distances thereafter. The daily movement rates, and the total ranges covered by the fish in late summer and autumn were 54±32 m (mean± s.d ) and 1053±1636 m, and 190±168 m and 3135±1850 m, respectively. In autumn the fish used deeper habitats (most suitable range 150–400 cm) with lower current velocities (20–80 cm s⁻¹) and finer bottom substrata (mainly sand) than in late summer (depth 100–325 cm, velocity 30–110 cm s⁻¹, and cobble-boulder substrata).     

Heat sensitivity of photosynthetic electron transport varies during the day due to changes in sugars and osmotic potential

In water-stressed leaves, accumulation of neutral osmotica enhances the heat tolerance of photosynthetic electron transport. There are large diurnal and day-to-day changes in leaf sugar content because of variations in net photosynthetic production, respiration and retranslocation. To test the hypothesis that diurnal and day-to-day variations in leaf sugar content and osmotic potential significantly modify the responses to temperature of photosynthetic electron transport rate, we studied chlorophyll fluorescence rise temperatures (i.e. critical temperatures at break-points in fluorescence versus temperature response curves, corresponding to enhanced damage of PSII centers and detachment of pigment-binding complexes) in the dark at a background of weak far-red light (T(FR)) and under actinic light (T(L)), and responses of foliar photosynthetic electron transport rate to temperature using gas-exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence techniques in the temperate tree Populus tremula L. Sucrose and sorbitol feeding experiments demonstrated strong increases of fluorescence rise temperatures T(FR) and T(L) with decreasing leaf osmotic potential and increasing internal sugar concentration. Similar T(FR) and T(L) changes were observed in response to natural variation in leaf sugar concentration throughout the day. Increases in leaf sugar concentration led to an overall down-regulation of the rate of photosynthetic electron transport (J), but increases in the optimum temperature (Topt) of J. For the entire dataset, Topt varied from 33.8 degrees C to 43 degrees C due to natural variation in sugars and from 33.8 degrees C to 52.6 degrees C in the sugar feeding experiments, underscoring the importance of sugars in modifying the response of J to temperature. However, the correlations between the sugar concentration and fluorescence rise temperature varied between the days. This variation in fluorescence rise temperature was best explained by the average temperature of the preceding 5 or 6 days. In addition, there was a significant year-to-year variation in heat sensitivity of photosynthetic electron transport that was associated with year-to-year differences in endogenous sugar content. Our data demonstrate a diurnal variation in leaf heat tolerance due to changes in sugar concentration, but they also show that this short-term modification in heat tolerance is super-imposed by long-term changes in heat resistance driven by average temperature of preceding days.     

Tempo and mode of vegetation dynamics over 50 years in a New Zealand alpine cushion / tussock community

Abstract. Question: What are the tempo and mode of long‐term succession and of demographic processes in an alpine community, especially: tenacity, transition patterns, predictions, growth of individual cushion plants, cyclic succession, spatial patterns? Location: A low‐alpine mixed cushion /turf /snow‐tussock / shrub community in southeastern New Zealand. Methods: The distribution of seven plant cover‐types was recorded at 1024 fixed points in an 8 m × 8 m plot at approximately decade intervals for 50 years. The diameters of eight Donatia novae‐zelandiae cushions were monitored. Results: The process was essentially first‐order Markovian. There was a change in transition frequencies about 1980. The tenacity of the two major cover types — cushion and turf — was high, but that of cushion decreased about 1980 as some of its area was taken over by turf. The original informal prediction of 1955 that the cushion/turf would increase proved to be correct, probably because of paludification of the site. A prediction of 1987 made from observed transitions that cushion would dominate over turf has proved untrue because of a change in the transition probabilities in the 1980s, of unknown cause. There is a ten‐fold range in diameter growth rates among the eight cushions measured, but the mean rate of 5.3 mm.a^‐1 is similar to that reported from other alpine and arctic sites. As cushions aged, turf colonized their centres, and in two cases new cushions colonized into this turf: consistent with cyclic succession. The pattern of transitions was compatible with a general interpretation of cyclic succession, but not definitive. Conclusions: Change is slow in this alpine community, and tenacity high. The change in transition frequencies about 1980, the invasion of individual cushions, and the decrease in spatial autocorrelation all suggest that cushions established on the site as a result of the clearance of woody vegetation after 1400 AD. Paludification may be causing some loss of tussock grass. A tendency for the cushions to break up, and the shallow peat accumulated below them, may indicate that they are the first generation of cushions on the site. Though these cushions are breaking up, other cushions are establishing, and cushions will continue to be an important part of the vegetation dynamics which may be part of a cyclic succession.     

Changes in movement, range and habitat preferences of adult grayling from late summer to early winter

Radio‐tagged adult grayling Thymallus thymallus ( n  = 22), monitored from mid August to mid December 1999 in the River Kuusinkijoki, Finland, shifted by the end of September (water temperature 10·0–14·5° C) from riffle sites to deeper and slower pool sites 0·7–1·6 km up‐ or downstream. In early winter ( c . 0° C water temperature), eight of 13 fish still under study made a further shift into new pool sites, possibly triggered by ice formation. The summer range of grayling in the riffles was smaller (mean ±  s . d . length: 75 ± 146 m) than the autumn range (99 ± 46 m) in the pools, but gross daily movements were equally short in both the seasons (18 ± 34 m and 15 ± 7 m, respectively). In late summer, adult grayling preferred water depths 80–120 cm and mean velocities >40 cm s⁻¹. In autumn, the preferred ranges were 100–240 cm and <30 cm s⁻¹, respectively. Substratum was mainly boulders in the summer sites, and gravel or pebbles in the autumn sites.     

Nurse effect of Bolax gummifera cushion plants in the alpine vegetation of the Chilean Patagonian Andes

Abstract. It has been proposed that in the harsh arctic and alpine climate zones, small microtopographic variations that can generate more benign conditions than in the surrounding environment could be perceived as safe sites for seedling recruitment. Cushion plants can modify wind pattern, temperature and water availability. Such modifications imply that cushion plants could act as ‘nurse plants’ facilitating the recruitment of other species in the community. This effect should be more evident under stressful conditions. We tested these hypotheses comparing the number of species that grow inside and outside Bolax gummifera cushions at two elevations (700 and 900 m a.s.l.) in the Patagonian Andes of Chile (50°S). At both elevations, and in equivalent areas, the number of species was registered within and outside cushions. A total of 36 and 27 plant species were recorded either within or outside B. gummifera cushions at 700 and 900 m a.s.l., respectively. At 700 m a.s.l., 33 species were recorded growing within cushions and 29 outside them, while at 900 m a.s.l. these numbers were 24 and 13 respectively. At both elevations there were significantly more species growing within than outside cushions, and the proportion of species growing within cushions increased with elevation. Thus there is a nurse effect of cushion plants and it is more evident at higher elevations. Shelter from wind and increased soil water availability seem to be the factors that increase plant recruitment within cushions.     

Growth of Leucobryum glaucum cushions In a Berkshire oakwood

Abstract

Radial growth of cushions of Leucobryum glaucum was studied by the crankwire method over two years in an oakwood at Mill Pond, Easthampstead, Berkshire. At this site L. glaucum is the dominant ground flora species on acidic peat and forms some exceptionally large cushions (largest 2 m long, 1.5 m wide, 55 cm high). Growth was unrelated to initial cushion radius and proceeded at a similar rate on all faces of the cushions (overall average, 9.1 mm yr^-1). Estimates of the age of the largest cushion range from sixty to eighty-four years depending on the radius measurement used. Growth rate was highest during the summer and autumn. It was unrelated to variations in precipitation but correlated strongly with air temperature, particularly accumulated temperatures (day-degrees) above 5°C. Evidence is discussed in support of the proposal that L. glaucum is relatively thermophilic. The large cushions at Mill Pond probably result from a combination of favourable circumstances including the warm southern locality, the moist acidic soils, a humid sheltered microclimate and protection from disturbance.     

Short-term responses of phenology, shoot growth and leaf traits of four alpine shrubs in a timberline ecotone to simulated global warming, Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

The short-term effects of artificial warming on phenology, growth and leaf traits were investigated in four alpine shrubs using the open-top chamber (OTC) method in a timberline ecotone (3240 m a.s.l.) on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. The OTC enhanced the mean air temperature by 2.9°C throughout the growing season. In contrast, only a slight difference (0.4°C) in the mean soil temperature was observed in the OTC compared with the control plots (CP). Spiraea mongolica , Potentilla fruticosa , Conicera hispida (deciduous shrubs) and Daphne retusa (evergreen shrub) showed earlier bud break, flowering and fruit coloring as well as longer flower longevity in the OTC than in the CP. All deciduous shrubs in the OTC had a longer leaf lifespan. Daphne retusa had higher leaf survival rates in the OTC. No significant differences in the total number of flowers and fruits were noticed for most species between the two treatments. Warming stimulated the shoot and leaf growth for most species. The specific leaf area tended to increase for many species in the OTC. However, the leaf nitrogen concentration tended to decrease in P. fruticosa and S. mongolica. The results obtained in the present study indicate that warming conditions can have strong impacts on alpine shrubs in a timberline ecotone.     

Elevated red myotomal muscle temperatures in the most basal tuna species, Allothunnus fallai

The present study tested the hypothesis that Allothunnus fallai can elevate its slow-oxidative red myotomal muscle (RM) temperature. Measurements on 30 A. fallai (750–850 mm fork length) captured by hook and line off the coast of southern New Zealand revealed that RM temperatures are elevated by mean ± s . d . 8·1 ± 1·3° C (range 6·7–10·0° C) above the mean ± s . d . ambient sea surface temperature 15·3 ± 0·8° C (range 14·3 to 16·4° C). These data provide evidence that the vascular modifications to the central circulation of A. fallai act as a counter-current heat exchanger and that RM heat conservation is a character state present in all extant tuna species.     

Effect of long-term and rapid cold hardening on the cold torpor temperature of an aphid

Abstract.  The effect of long-term (seasonal) acclimation and rapid cold hardening is investigated on the cold torpor temperature ( CT _min) of adult grain aphids, Sitobion avenae, reared at 20 or 10 °C for more than 6 months before experimentation. Rapid cold hardening is induced by exposing aphids reared at 20 to 0 °C for 3 h and aphids reared at 10 to 0 °C for 30 min (acclimation regimes previously found to induce maximum rapid cold hardening). The effect of cooling aphids from the same rearing regimes from 10 to −10 °C at 1, 0.5 and 0.1 °C min⁻¹ is also investigated. In the 20 °C acclimated population, rapid cold hardening and cooling at 0.1 °C min⁻¹ both produce a significant decrease in CT _min from 1.5 ± 0.3 to –0.9 ± 0.3 and –1.3 ± 0.3 °C, respectively. Rapid cold hardening also results in a significant reduction in CT _min of the population reared at 10 °C from 0.8 ± 0.1 to –0.9 ± 0.2 °C. However, none of the cooling regimes tested reduces the CT _min of the winter-acclimated (10 °C) population. The present study demonstrates that rapid cold-hardening induced during the cooling phase of natural diurnal temperature cycles could lower the movement threshold of S. avenae , allowing insects to move and continue feeding at lower temperatures than would otherwise be possible.     

Thermal tolerance of a northern population of striped bass Morone saxatilis

Thermal tolerance of age 0+ year Shubenacadie River (Nova Scotia, Canada) striped bass Morone saxatilis juveniles (mean ± s . e . fork length, L _F, 19·2 ± 0·2 cm) acclimated in fresh water to six temperatures from 5 to 30° C was measured by both the incipient lethal technique (72 h assay), and the critical thermal method ( C _m). The lower incipient lethal temperature ranged from 2·4 to 11·3° C, and the upper incipient lethal temperature ( I _U) from 24·4 to 33·9° C. The area of thermal tolerance was 618° C². In a separate experiment, the I _U of large age 2+ year fish (34·4 ± 0·5 cm L _F) was 1·2 and 0·6° C lower ( P < 0·01) than smaller age 1+ year fish (21·8 ± 0·5 cm L _F) at acclimation temperatures of 16 and 23° C. Using the C _m, loss of equilibrium occurred at 27·4–37·7° C, loss of righting response at 28·1–38·4° C and onset of spasms at 28·5–38·8° C, depending on acclimation temperature. The linear regression slopes for these three responses were statistically similar (0·41; P > 0·05), but the intercepts differed (25·3, 26·0 and 26·5° C; P < 0·01). The thermal tolerance of this northern population appears to be broader than southern populations.