The complex drivers of thermal acclimation and breadth in ectotherms.

Area of Science:

• Ecology and evolutionary biology
• Physiological ecology
• Climate change biology

Background:

• Organisms' ability to adjust their thermal performance (thermal acclimation capacity) is crucial for adapting to changing temperatures.
• Understanding thermal plasticity is vital for predicting species' responses to global climate change.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a predictive framework for thermal plasticity across diverse taxa, habitats, and environmental conditions.
• To investigate the factors influencing thermal acclimation capacity and breadth in ectotherms.

Main Methods:

• Combined simulation modeling with meta-analysis of published data on thermal acclimation.
• Synthesized over 2000 acclimation measures from over 500 ectotherm species.
• Analyzed the influence of body size, latitude, seasonality, and experimental factors.

Main Results:

• Acclimation capacity is influenced by body size, latitude, and seasonality, often interacting with methodological factors.
• Acclimation rate negatively scales with body size, while capacity increases with body size and latitude.
• Experimental artifacts commonly lead to underestimation of acclimation capacity.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework can predict how thermal plasticity affects species' vulnerability to climate change.
• Phenotypic plasticity plays a role in buffering some species against climate change impacts, as demonstrated in amphibians.
• Further research is needed to refine predictions and understand the limits of thermal acclimation.