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Species-level differences in responses to environmental factors may increase a community's ability to retain key functions under environmental change. We compared the oxygen consumption rates and maintenance of critical behaviors for three co-occurring intertidal gastropod species over a temperature range of 30 °C. Each species exhibited a distinct thermal performance curve (TPC) for oxygen consumption. The TPC of Lunella granulata was horizontally shifted to be significantly warmer than that of Chlorostoma argyrostoma. Monodonta labio's TPC was vertically shifted compared to the other two species, reflecting greater oxygen consumption overall. L. granulata and M. labio maintained critical behaviors at temperatures 3-5 °C warmer than C. argyrostoma. These differences in the thermal tolerances of similar, co-occurring species provide space for the insurance effect of biodiversity to occur. Understanding the degree to which co-occurring species respond differently to increased temperature may help us predict community resistance in the face of climate change., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Ocean acidification, chemical changes to the carbonate system of seawater, is emerging as a key environmental challenge accompanying global warming and other human-induced perturbations. Considerable research seeks to define the scope and character of potential outcomes from this phenomenon, but a crucial impediment persists. Ecological theory, despite its power and utility, has been only peripherally applied to the problem. Here we sketch in broad strokes several areas where fundamental principles of ecology have the capacity to generate insight into ocean acidification's consequences. We focus on conceptual models that, when considered in the context of acidification, yield explicit predictions regarding a spectrum of population- and community-level effects, from narrowing of species ranges and shifts in patterns of demographic connectivity, to modified consumer-resource relationships, to ascendance of weedy taxa and loss of species diversity. Although our coverage represents only a small fraction of the breadth of possible insights achievable from the application of theory, our hope is that this initial foray will spur expanded efforts to blend experiments with theoretical approaches. The result promises to be a deeper and more nuanced understanding of ocean acidification'and the ecological changes it portends.