Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype02:27

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Genetic Drift03:33

Genetic Drift

Natural selection—probably the most well-known evolutionary mechanism—increases the prevalence of traits that enhance survival and reproduction. However, evolution does not merely propagate favorable traits, nor does it always benefit populations.
Energy Budgets00:51

Energy Budgets

Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of survivorship and reproductive strategies, including semelparity and iteroparity. Semelparous species, like annual plants, have only one reproductive episode in their lifetimes and consequently have short lifespans. Iteroparous species, by contrast, have many reproductive events during their lifetimes but have relatively few offspring. These two...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Camouflage, Behavior, and Predator-Prey Interactions in a Changing World.

Integrative and comparative biology·2026
Same author

Shifts in salamander body size associated with 60 years of climate change.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2025
Same author

Testing for Differences in Metabolism Among Females and Dimorphic Males of Four Dung Beetle Species (Coloeoptera: Scarabaeinae).

Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England)·2025
Same author

Maternal Investment Is Positively Associated With the Presence of Extra-Pair Offspring in a Socially Monogamous Songbird.

Ecology and evolution·2025
Same author

Experimentally Elevated Levels of Testosterone Advance Daily Onset of Activity in Short-Day Housed Male House Sparrows (Passer domesticus).

Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology·2024
Same author

A trait-based framework for dung beetle functional ecology.

The Journal of animal ecology·2022

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2026

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Behavioral Plasticity of Dung Beetles During Reproduction Does Not Fully Rescue Offspring from Climate Warming.

Samuel J Lane1, Olivia T White1, Kimberly S Sheldon1

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.

Integrative and Comparative Biology
|May 14, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Female dung beetles adjust nesting behavior to cope with warming temperatures, but this only partially protects offspring from negative climate change impacts. Increased brood ball depth in warmer conditions did not fully rescue offspring survival.

More Related Videos

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
07:54

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Measuring O2 Consumption in Drosophila melanogaster Using Coulometric Microrespirometry
07:12

Measuring O2 Consumption in Drosophila melanogaster Using Coulometric Microrespirometry

Published on: July 7, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 16, 2026

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
07:54

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Measuring O2 Consumption in Drosophila melanogaster Using Coulometric Microrespirometry
07:12

Measuring O2 Consumption in Drosophila melanogaster Using Coulometric Microrespirometry

Published on: July 7, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Climate Change Biology

Background:

  • Global temperature shifts threaten species survival, often prompting behavioral changes like altered parental care.
  • Behavioral plasticity in parental care can buffer offspring against environmental changes, but its impact on fitness under warming is not fully understood.
  • Few studies use repeated measures designs to distinguish behavioral plasticity from interindividual differences in response to experimental warming.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how increased temperatures affect parental behavior and reproductive success in the dung beetle *Phanaeus vindex*.
  • To understand the role of female behavioral plasticity in mitigating the effects of warming on offspring survival and phenotype.
  • To utilize a repeated measures design to analyze individual responses to experimental warming.

Main Methods:

  • Breeding female *Phanaeus vindex* were exposed to three experimental soil temperature conditions: control (26.0°C), low warming (gradient to 30.7°C), and high warming (gradient to 34.3°C).
  • Parental care metrics (brood ball burial depth and size) and reproductive success (number of brood balls, offspring survival, body size) were recorded.
  • Offspring were reared in incubators at temperatures ranging from 26°C to 33°C, and a repeated measures design allowed for individual reaction norm creation.

Main Results:

  • Females in the high warming treatment buried brood balls significantly deeper than in control and low warming treatments.
  • Brood ball size and number did not differ significantly across temperature treatments, indicating consistent maternal investment.
  • Offspring survival was negatively impacted by the high warming treatment, with fewer survivors compared to the low warming treatment, even when reared at identical temperatures.

Conclusions:

  • Female dung beetle behavioral plasticity, specifically increased brood ball depth, offers partial buffering against extreme temperatures during nesting.
  • Despite behavioral adaptations, the elevated nesting temperatures negatively impacted offspring survival, indicating limits to plasticity's protective effects.
  • Climate warming poses a significant threat to reproductive success, as parental behavioral adjustments alone may not fully overcome the detrimental effects on offspring.