Ocean warming is affecting marine ectothermic herbivores as well as the macroalgal species they consume and this has the potential to alter their trophic interaction. However, it is currently still unknown how these two important components of benthic food webs will react to a warming environment. Consumption rates of grazers change with increasing temperatures, but it is unclear whether this is also true for feeding preferences. In this study, multiple-choice feeding assays with the tropical abalone Haliotis squamata from Western Indonesia were conducted in August 2018. After brief acclimation of either the grazer or the macroalgae to moderately elevated water temperatures (maximum 2 °C above the long-term average) in the laboratory, three species of living macroalgae were simultaneously offered to the abalone in feeding assays. Consumption rates of H. squamata were lower under elevated water temperatures, while its feeding preference switched: At 27 °C (2 °C below long-term average), abalone preferred non-acclimated Gracilaria salicornia, but switched to non-acclimated Amphiroa spp. at 31 °C. Interestingly, no such switch in preference occurred when the macroalgae, but not the grazers were acclimated. This indicates that the grazer will presumably be the driver of this potential change in interactions between H. squamata and its macroalgal food. Ocean warming may result in changes in the structure of benthic communities, mediated by changes in the feeding behaviour of herbivorous invertebrates.

海洋变暖正在影响海洋变温食草动物以及它们消耗的大型藻类物种，这有可能改变它们的营养相互作用。然而，目前尚不清楚底栖食物网的这两个重要组成部分将如何对变暖的环境做出反应。食草动物的消费率随着温度的升高而变化，但尚不清楚这是否也适用于喂养偏好。在这项研究中，热带鲍鱼Haliotis squamata 的多项选择喂养试验来自印度尼西亚西部的实验于 2018 年 8 月进行。在实验室中将食草动物或大型藻类短暂适应适度升高的水温（最高比长期平均值高 2 °C）后，同时向这些大型藻类提供了三种活体大型藻类。鲍鱼饲料分析。在水温升高的情况下，鳞翅目的食用率较低，但其摄食偏好发生了变化：在 27 °C（比长期平均水平低 2 °C）时，鲍鱼更喜欢未驯化的江蓠，但转向未驯化的Amphiroa属 在 31°C。有趣的是，当大型藻类而不是食草动物适应时，没有发生这种偏好的转变。这表明食草动物可能是H. squamata与其大型藻类食物之间相互作用的这种潜在变化的驱动因素。海洋变暖可能导致底栖群落结构发生变化，这是由草食性无脊椎动物摄食行为的变化介导的。