Systematic approaches to assessing high-temperature limits to fertility in animals

作者：Amanda Bretman, Claudia Fricke, Julian Baur, David Berger, Merel C. Breedveld, Diego Dierick, Berta Canal Domènech, Szymon M. Drobniak, Jacintha Ellers, Sinéad English, Clelia Gasparini, Graziella Iossa, Malgorzata Lagisz, Shinichi Nakagawa, Daniel W. A. Noble, Patrice Pottier, Steven A. Ramm, Melissah Rowe, Eva Schultner, Mads F. Schou, Pedro Simões, Paula Stockley, Ramakrishnan Vasudeva, Hester Weaving, Tom A. R. Price, Rhonda R. Snook · 发表于：Journal of Evolutionary Biology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1093/jeb/voae021 · 被引用次数：19 · 研究领域：Environmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones、Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

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 re...