| Species with wide latitudinal distributions are exposed to significant abiotic gradients throughout their geographic range. Thermal gradients are especially important for ectothermic species inhabiting the intertidal zone because they affect their life history traits and fitness. In order to identify the role of latitudinal thermal gradients (specifically the exposition to different thermal maximums) in the cost of living of intertidal crustaceans, we compared specific fitness-related traits, such as body size and reproductive capacity (reproductive output, size at onset of sexual maturity and egg volume) in Petrolisthes granulosus individuals from 3 sites across an extensive latitudinal gradient (covering similar to 50% of its total distributional range):... |
