Bretman, Amanda and Fricke, Claudia and Baur, Julian and Berger, David and Breedveld, Merel C. and Dierick, Diego and Canal Domenech, Berta and Drobniak, Szymon M. and Ellers, Jacintha and English, Sinead and Gasparini, Clelia and Iossa, Graziella and Lagisz, Malgorzata and Nakagawa, Shinichi and Noble, Daniel W. A. and Pottier, Patrice and Ramm, Steven A. and Rowe, Melissah and Schultner, Eva and Schou, Mads and Simoes, Pedro and Stockley, Paula and Vasudeva, Ramakrishnan and Weaving, Hester and Price, Tom A. R. and Snook, Rhonda R. (2024) Systematic approaches to assessing high-temperature limits to fertility in animals. JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, 37 (4). pp. 471-485. ISSN 1010-061X, 1420-9101
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Critical thermal limits (CTLs) gauge the physiological impact of temperature on survival or critical biological function, aiding predictions of species range shifts and climatic resilience. Two recent Drosophila species studies, using similar approaches to determine temperatures that induce sterility (thermal fertility limits [TFLs]), reveal that TFLs are often lower than CTLs and that TFLs better predict both current species distributions and extinction probability. Moreover, many studies show fertility is more sensitive at less extreme temperatures than survival (thermal sensitivity of fertility [TSF]). These results present a more pessimistic outlook on the consequences of climate change. However, unlike CTLs, TFL data are limited to Drosophila, and variability in TSF methods poses challenges in predicting species responses to increasing temperature. To address these data and methodological gaps, we propose 3 standardized approaches for assessing thermal impacts on fertility. We focus on adult obligate sexual terrestrial invertebrates but also provide modifications for other animal groups and life-history stages. We first outline a "gold-standard" protocol for determining TFLs, focussing on the effects of short-term heat shocks and simulating more frequent extreme heat events predicted by climate models. As this approach may be difficult to apply to some organisms, we then provide a standardized TSF protocol. Finally, we provide a framework to quantify fertility loss in response to extreme heat events in nature, given the limitations in laboratory approaches. Applying these standardized approaches across many taxa, similar to CTLs, will allow robust tests of the impact of fertility loss on species responses to increasing temperatures. Graphical AbstractOverview of the systematic methods (A, C, and D) to simultaneously assay lethal limits and thermal fertility limits or (B and E) thermal sensitivity of fertility. These are most easily applied to laboratory settings but can be used for assessing the fertility of wild-caught animals that have been exposed to natural temperatures.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER; THERMAL LIMITS; MALE-STERILITY; VULNERABILITY; COMPETITION; ADAPTATION; TOLERANCE; reproduction; heat; thermal fertility limit; thermal sensitivity of fertility; critical thermal limit |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie > Zoologie/Evolutionsbiologie (Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinze) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Aug 2025 10:07 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Aug 2025 10:07 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/65512 |
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