Figure 5. Unifying model of physiological responses of fish to the interaction of ocean warming and jellyfish stinging.

Dashed lines represent the responses to single factors alone. Briefly, the rise of water temperature is mirrored by an increase of oxygen consumption rate (MO₂), but does not affect the sensitivity of fish to declining environmental oxygen tension (PO₂) (long dashed line); by contrast, jellyfish envenomation causes increased PO_2crit, which enhances the sensitivity to hypoxia (short dashed line). The dotted line represents the physiological response to the interaction of both factors and shows the enhanced vulnerability of fish.