The intertidal zone is an especially stressful thermal habitat, typically exposing residents to air temperatures for up to 6 h at a time, twice daily. Tolerance to elevated temperatures has been particularly well-studied for a variety of intertidal species, especially with regard to upper thermal limits during summers. However, in recent years, as climates have been changing around the world, temperate zone intertidal organisms have sometimes been exposed to periods of unusually high air temperatures during the winter. The present study sought to examine the impact of elevated temperatures on survival and clearance rates of winter-acclimated intertidal individuals of the sedentary marine suspension-feeding gastropod Crepidula fornicata. Individuals were collected intertidally from Nahant, Massachusetts from late January to early April each year for 5 years, maintained in the laboratory at the acclimation temperature of 6 °C, and exposed in the laboratory for 3 h to temperatures as high as 37 °C in seawater either once or twice, 24 h apart. Although mean clearance rates were substantially reduced for at least the next 12–24 h after individuals were returned to the 6 °C control condition following exposures to elevated temperatures as low as 21–26 °C, we saw little mortality even following two 3 h exposures to 35 °C, or single exposures to 37 °C. Mortality was substantial, however, in one experiment following a double exposure to 37 °C. Smaller individuals (~5–12 mm in shell length) were somewhat more sensitive to the thermal stress than adults were. Intertidal members of C. fornicata in Massachusetts seem well-prepared to deal with the increasing range of winter air temperatures associated with the global climate confusion predicted for future years. Additional studies will be required to understand the physiological and biochemical mechanisms used by winter-acclimated individuals of this species to tolerate such periodic substantial temperature increases of 29–31 °C.

潮间带是一个压力特别大的热栖息地，通常每天两次将居民暴露于空气中长达6小时。对于各种潮间物种，对高温的耐受性已经得到了很好的研究，尤其是在夏季的高温上限方面。然而，近年来，随着世界各地气候的变化，温带潮间带生物有时在冬季处于异常高的气温时期。本研究试图研究高温对久坐的海洋悬浮饲料腹足纲腹足纲爬行纲的冬季适应潮间潮个体存活和清除率的影响。。每年1月下旬至4月初从马萨诸塞州纳汉特间断地收集个体，共收集5年，在实验室中保持6°C的适应温度，然后在实验室中暴露3小时，使其温度高达37°C。海水相隔24小时一次或两次。尽管在暴露于低至21–26°C的高温之后，个体恢复到6°C的控制条件后，至少在接下来的12–24 h内平均清除率显着降低，但即使经过2个3 h，死亡率也很少暴露于35°C，或单次暴露于37°C。然而，在两次暴露于37°C的实验中，死亡率很高。较小的个体（壳长约5-12 mm）对热应力的敏感性比成年人高。潮间带成员马萨诸塞州的C. fornicata似乎已做好充分的准备，以应对与未来几年预计的全球气候混乱有关的冬季气温不断升高的情况。需要进一步的研究来了解该物种的冬季适应个体所使用的生理和生化机制，以耐受这种周期性的29-31°C的大幅温度升高。