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Developmental plasticity in thermal tolerance: Ontogenetic variation, persistence, and future directions
Patrice Pottier1, Samantha Burke1, Rose Y Zhang2
1Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Ecology Letters
|August 25, 2022
Summary
Climate change impacts ectotherms. Developmental plasticity offers limited thermal tolerance benefits, especially for aquatic species, with embryonic stages showing vulnerability.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Climate Change Biology
Background:
- Predicting climate change impacts on ectotherms requires understanding thermal tolerance.
- Developmental plasticity's role in coping with thermal extremes is poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To meta-analyze the impact of early thermal environments on ectotherm thermal tolerance.
- To assess initial and persistent effects across embryonic and juvenile stages.
Main Methods:
- Meta-analysis of 150 experimental studies on 138 ectothermic species.
- Quantified changes in thermal tolerance relative to developmental temperature.
- Compared plasticity between aquatic and terrestrial ectotherms and across life stages.
Main Results:
- Thermal tolerance increased by only 0.13°C per 1°C developmental temperature change.
- Aquatic ectotherms showed over three times greater plasticity than terrestrial ones.
- Embryonic plasticity was weaker and more heterogeneous than in later stages.
Conclusions:
- Developmental plasticity provides limited compensation for thermal extremes in ectotherms.
- Embryonic stages are a critical window of vulnerability to climate change.
- Persistent effects of developmental temperature on thermal tolerance are under-studied but vary with ontogeny.
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