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A systematic map of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction

Dougherty, Liam R. ; Frost, Fay ; Maenpaa, Maarit I. ; Rowe, Melissah ; Cole, Benjamin J. ; Vasudeva, Ramakrishnan ; Pottier, Patrice ; Schultner, Eva ; Macartney, Erin L. and Lindenbaum, Ina , et al. (2024) In Ecological Solutions and Evidence 5(1).
Abstract

Exposure to extreme temperatures can negatively affect animal reproduction, by disrupting the ability of individuals to produce any offspring (fertility), or the number of offspring produced by fertile individuals (fecundity). This has important ecological consequences, because reproduction is the ultimate measure of population fitness: a reduction in reproductive output lowers the population growth rate and increases the extinction risk. Despite this importance, there have been no large-scale summaries of the evidence for effect of temperature on reproduction. We provide a systematic map of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction. We systematically searched for published studies that statistically... (More)

Exposure to extreme temperatures can negatively affect animal reproduction, by disrupting the ability of individuals to produce any offspring (fertility), or the number of offspring produced by fertile individuals (fecundity). This has important ecological consequences, because reproduction is the ultimate measure of population fitness: a reduction in reproductive output lowers the population growth rate and increases the extinction risk. Despite this importance, there have been no large-scale summaries of the evidence for effect of temperature on reproduction. We provide a systematic map of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction. We systematically searched for published studies that statistically test for a direct link between temperature and animal reproduction, in terms of fertility, fecundity or indirect measures of reproductive potential (gamete and gonad traits). Overall, we collated a large and rich evidence base, with 1654 papers that met our inclusion criteria, encompassing 1191 species. The map revealed several important research gaps. Insects made up almost half of the dataset, but reptiles and amphibians were uncommon, as were non-arthropod invertebrates. Fecundity was the most common reproductive trait examined, and relatively few studies measured fertility. It was uncommon for experimental studies to test exposure of different life stages, exposure to short-term heat or cold shock, exposure to temperature fluctuations, or to independently assess male and female effects. Studies were most often published in journals focusing on entomology and pest control, ecology and evolution, aquaculture and fisheries science, and marine biology. Finally, while individuals were sampled from every continent, there was a strong sampling bias towards mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, such that the tropics and polar regions are less well sampled. This map reveals a rich literature of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction, but also uncovers substantial missing treatment of taxa, traits, and thermal regimes. This database will provide a valuable resource for future quantitative meta-analyses, and direct future studies aiming to fill identified gaps.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
climate change, egg, evidence map, sperm, sterility, systematic review, thermal fertility limit, thermal tolerance
in
Ecological Solutions and Evidence
volume
5
issue
1
article number
e12303
publisher
Wiley
external identifiers
  • scopus:85184269336
ISSN
2688-8319
DOI
10.1002/2688-8319.12303
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
74f813fe-b450-430a-81b5-bd864ec592bb
date added to LUP
2024-02-29 15:03:33
date last changed
2024-03-01 11:12:27
@article{74f813fe-b450-430a-81b5-bd864ec592bb,
  abstract     = {{<p>Exposure to extreme temperatures can negatively affect animal reproduction, by disrupting the ability of individuals to produce any offspring (fertility), or the number of offspring produced by fertile individuals (fecundity). This has important ecological consequences, because reproduction is the ultimate measure of population fitness: a reduction in reproductive output lowers the population growth rate and increases the extinction risk. Despite this importance, there have been no large-scale summaries of the evidence for effect of temperature on reproduction. We provide a systematic map of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction. We systematically searched for published studies that statistically test for a direct link between temperature and animal reproduction, in terms of fertility, fecundity or indirect measures of reproductive potential (gamete and gonad traits). Overall, we collated a large and rich evidence base, with 1654 papers that met our inclusion criteria, encompassing 1191 species. The map revealed several important research gaps. Insects made up almost half of the dataset, but reptiles and amphibians were uncommon, as were non-arthropod invertebrates. Fecundity was the most common reproductive trait examined, and relatively few studies measured fertility. It was uncommon for experimental studies to test exposure of different life stages, exposure to short-term heat or cold shock, exposure to temperature fluctuations, or to independently assess male and female effects. Studies were most often published in journals focusing on entomology and pest control, ecology and evolution, aquaculture and fisheries science, and marine biology. Finally, while individuals were sampled from every continent, there was a strong sampling bias towards mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, such that the tropics and polar regions are less well sampled. This map reveals a rich literature of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction, but also uncovers substantial missing treatment of taxa, traits, and thermal regimes. This database will provide a valuable resource for future quantitative meta-analyses, and direct future studies aiming to fill identified gaps.</p>}},
  author       = {{Dougherty, Liam R. and Frost, Fay and Maenpaa, Maarit I. and Rowe, Melissah and Cole, Benjamin J. and Vasudeva, Ramakrishnan and Pottier, Patrice and Schultner, Eva and Macartney, Erin L. and Lindenbaum, Ina and Smith, Jamie L. and Carazo, Pau and Graziano, Marco and Weaving, Hester and Canal Domenech, Berta and Berger, David and Meena, Abhishek and Bishop, Tom Rhys and Noble, Daniel W.A. and Simões, Pedro and Baur, Julian and Breedveld, Merel C. and Svensson, Erik I. and Lancaster, Lesley T. and Ellers, Jacintha and De Nardo, Alessio N. and Santos, Marta A. and Ramm, Steven A. and Drobniak, Szymon M. and Redana, Matteo and Tuni, Cristina and Pilakouta, Natalie and Zizzari, Z. Valentina and Iossa, Graziella and Lüpold, Stefan and Koppik, Mareike and Early, Regan and Gasparini, Clelia and Nakagawa, Shinichi and Lagisz, Malgorzata and Bretman, Amanda and Fricke, Claudia and Snook, Rhonda R. and Price, Tom A.R.}},
  issn         = {{2688-8319}},
  keywords     = {{climate change; egg; evidence map; sperm; sterility; systematic review; thermal fertility limit; thermal tolerance}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley}},
  series       = {{Ecological Solutions and Evidence}},
  title        = {{A systematic map of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12303}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/2688-8319.12303}},
  volume       = {{5}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}