Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2025
07:54
Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
Published on: March 9, 2021
3.1K
A warmer environment can reduce sociability in an ectotherm
Natalie Pilakouta1,2, Patrick J O'Donnell1, Amélie Crespel1,3
1School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Global Change Biology
|October 19, 2022
Summary
Temperature significantly impacts social behavior in threespine sticklebacks, influencing their heritable sociability. Early life thermal conditions are crucial for adult sociality, offering insights into climate change effects on animal populations.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Ecology
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Social behavior is influenced by environmental conditions, with temperature playing a key role.
- Temperature affects ectotherm physiology and ecological parameters, altering sociality costs and benefits.
- Climate change necessitates understanding temperature's impact on social behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of contrasting thermal environments on threespine stickleback sociability.
- To determine if differences in sociability between thermal habitats are heritable.
- To assess the influence of early-life temperature on adult social behavior.
Main Methods:
- Studied threespine sticklebacks from geothermally warmed (warm) and ambient (cold) Icelandic habitats.
- Measured sociability of wild-caught fish acclimated to low and high temperatures.
- Utilized a common garden breeding design to assess heritability and the effect of rearing temperature over two generations.
Main Results:
- Fish from allopatric warm habitats were less social than those from allopatric cold habitats.
- No significant difference in sociability was observed between sympatric warm and cold habitat fish.
- Sociability was found to be heritable and significantly influenced by rearing temperature.
Conclusions:
- Early-life thermal conditions causally influence adult social behavior in threespine sticklebacks.
- Temperature-dependent heritability suggests adaptive evolution of sociality in response to thermal environments.
- Findings provide insights into how a warming climate may alter sociality in animal populations.
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