'Optimal thermal range' in ectotherms: Defining criteria for tests of the temperature-size-rule.

Thermal performance curves for population growth rate r (a measure of fitness) were estimated over a wide range of temperature for three species: Coleps hirtus (Protista), Lecane inermis (Rotifera) and Aeolosoma hemprichi (Oligochaeta). We measured individual body size and examined if predictions for the temperature-size rule (TSR) were valid for different temperatures. All three organisms investigated follow the TSR, but only over a specific range between minimal and optimal temperatures, while maintenance at temperatures beyond this range showed the opposite pattern in these taxa. We consider minimal and optimal temperatures to be species-specific, and moreover delineate a physiological range outside of which an ectotherm is constrained against displaying size plasticity in response to temperature. This thermal range concept has important implications for general size-temperature studies. Furthermore, the concept of 'operating thermal conditions' may provide a new approach to (i) defining criteria required for investigating and interpreting temperature effects, and (ii) providing a novel interpretation for many cases in which species do not conform to the TSR.