Ecol Evol 2026 Jul 08;167:e73934. doi: 10.1002/ece3.73934.

Warming but not Food Limitation Alters Metabolism During Larval Development in Crown-of-Thorns Sea Stars (Acanthaster cf. Solaris).

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) across development to the late larval stage. As predicted, warming increased metabolic rates, with oxygen consumption higher at 30°C and 32°C, than at the control 26°C. High mortality occurred at 32°C in late bipinnaria (14 days), likely due to cumulative heat stress over time. In the 28°C and 30°C treatments oxygen consumption of bipinnaria (14-21 days) and brachiolaria larvae decreased, potentially due to metabolic suppression. The resilience of unfed larvae (to 21 days) and the similar metabolic rates of fed and unfed larvae to Day 14 indicate that the energetic requirements for larval maintenance and growth were provided by maternal (egg) nutrients, a resilience trait of CoTS. Our results indicate that under increased temperature, CoTS larvae can maintain positive energy budgets. While the presence of food is not critical for development to late bipinnaria, reduced growth in warm treatments in the absence of food may have fitness consequences. Our results highlight the need to understand the energy budget across the entire life cycle of CoTS.

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