1. Temperature has a dramatic effect on the physiology of ectothermic animals, impacting most of their biology. When temperatures increase above optimal for an animal, their growth gradually decreases. The main mechanism behind this growth rate reduction is unknown.
2. Here, we suggest the ‘aerobic scope protection’ hypothesis as a mechanistic explanation for the reduction in growth.
3. After a meal, metabolic rate, and hence oxygen consumption rate, transiently increase in a process called specific dynamic action (SDA). At warmer temperatures, the SDA response usually becomes temporally compressed, leading to a higher peak oxygen consumption rate. This peak in oxygen consumption rate risks taking up much of the animal's aerobic scope (the difference between resting and maximum rates of oxygen consumption), which would leave little residual aerobic scope for other aerobic functions.
4. We propose that water-breathing ectothermic animals will protect their postprandial residual aerobic scope by reducing meal sizes in order to regulate the peak SDA response during times of warming, leading to reductions in growth.
5. This hypothesis is consistent with the published literature on fishes, and we provide predictions that can be tested.

中文翻译：

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“有氧范围保护”减少变暖下的变温生长

1. 温度对变温动物的生理有显着影响，影响它们的大部分生物学。当温度升高到动物的最佳温度以上时，它们的生长会逐渐减少。这种增长率降低背后的主要机制尚不清楚。
2. 在这里，我们建议将“有氧范围保护”假说作为对生长减少的机械解释。
3. 饭后，代谢率，以及耗氧率，会在称为特定动力作用 (SDA) 的过程中暂时增加。在较温暖的温度下，SDA 响应通常会在时间上被压缩，从而导致更高的峰值耗氧率。耗氧率的这一峰值可能会占用动物的大部分有氧活动范围（静息和最大耗氧率之间的差异），这几乎不会为其他有氧功能留下剩余的有氧活动空间。
4. 我们建议水呼吸变温动物将通过减少膳食量来保护其餐后剩余有氧范围，以调节变暖期间的峰值 SDA 反应，从而导致生长减少。
5. 这一假设与已发表的鱼类文献一致，我们提供了可以检验的预测。