Award: OCE-1635989

Intellectual merit: This study explored the ways in which non-human organisms experience their changing environments, and how we might be able to use this information to guide strategies for conservation and management. Coastal zones are under threat from a range of stressors, and scientists are seeking methods for identifying areas that should be prioritized for protection. We focused on intertidal invertebrates and the role of temperature stress when they are exposed to air at low tide, as it is known that these animals are often especially sensitive to heat waves. We specifically examined the hypothesis that fine-scale microtopography of surfaces - the cracks, crevices and other small-scale features in which many organisms live in this habitat- can serve as refugia by providing shading. We proposed that topographically complex locations should support higher levels of biodiversity, especially following die-offs caused by heat waves. We used aerial drone topography and laser scanning of intertidal sites in two regions undergoing rapid rates of change, the Gulf of Maine in the United States and the eastern Mediterranean in Israel. We then compared patterns of surface complexity against patterns of biodiversity. We also used thermal engineering methods (finite element analysis) to examine a suite of theoretical surfaces to examine mechanisms by which they are heated by solar exposure at low tide. Our project showed some surprising results. Our theoretical analysis showed that increasing topographic complexity can actually increase thermal stress at moderate levels of complexity, but as complexity increases the number of refugia then also increases. We also developed a new method for quantifying these patterns by using the topographic models in a series of heat budget models which calculated the body temperature of key species of invertebrates whose body temperatures are largely driven by exposure to solar radiation. We then compared patterns of temperature to patterns of thermal physiological stress using laboratory measures of thermal tolerance. Overall our work highlights the important role of local habitat conditions in driving exposure to much larger-scale weather conditions and suggests that these small-scale drivers can potentially over-ride much larger scale factors. As such, they may serve as an important tool when developing approaches to reducing the impacts of global climate change on coastal organisms. For example, the indices of complexity developed by this project can inform the selection of sites for conservation management, and can inform the development of artificial shorelines such as seawalls to minimize impacts on coastal biodiversity. Broader Impacts: Our project further developed a series of immersive visualizations at field sites in the US and Israel. Many were created in conjunction with high school students who then used these visual "templates" to teach their peers about hands-on field work at intertidal locations. We experimentally tested knowledge gain and retention by students using virtual reality approaches vs traditional classroom methods and found that the group using VR showed significantly higher maintenance of knowledge gains than did students using traditional methods. Last Modified: 02/02/2020 Submitted by: Brian Helmuth