Study
Acclimation capacity underlies susceptibility to climate change
Stillman, Jonathon H.
Science, 2003
Measured both the upper thermal limit and the ability to shift that limit after acclimation, across twenty porcelain crab species spanning a wide range of thermal habitats, and tested the relationship between the two.
- Studied in
- Petrolisthes
- Sample size
- 20 porcelain crab species from intertidal to subtidal habitats
The species with the highest thermal limits had the least capacity to raise them further. Tolerance and acclimation capacity were inversely related, so the most heat-tolerant species were living closest to their ceilings with the least room left.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Vulnerability to warming is predicted by acclimation capacity rather than by absolute tolerance, and the two run in opposite directions.
How NatureHQ reads it
The result that makes the whole adaptation/acclimatisation distinction concrete. It is also directly counter-intuitive: being the toughest species in the assay is a risk factor rather than a protection, because it means having spent the available headroom already.
- One genus, in one thermal setting; whether the inverse relationship generalises is not established by this study alone.
- Laboratory acclimation over weeks may not represent the full capacity available over a longer exposure.
Measuring both, and finding they run opposite ways
Are the most heat-tolerant species the safest from warming?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of SciencePublished in Science or Science Advances (AAAS).
doi.org/10.1126/science.1083073
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.