ArticleNature communications2018
Experimental heatwaves compromise sperm function and cause transgenerational damage in a model insect.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
93 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Developmental environments do not affect thermal physiological traits in reptiles: an experimental test and meta-analysis.Biology letters · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of temperature on mating behaviour and mating success: A meta-analysis.The Journal of animal ecology · 2022Pooled it
- Microbiome-mediated resilience and cross-generational consequences in male Drosophila exposed to combined environmental stressors.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2026Article
- Persistent effects of experimental heatwave duration on population dynamics.Biology letters · 2026Article
- Adaptive introgression between two Drosophila species enhances heat tolerance despite barriers to gene flow.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Expression and Localization of a Testis-Specific Heat Shock Protein (CfHSP70-2) During Spermatogenesis in the Spruce Budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.).Archives of insect biochemistry and physiology · 2026Article
- Transgenerational effects of heat shock on gene regulation and fitness-related traits in natural Drosophila populations.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Long-Term Evolution Under Heatwave Conditions in the Seed Beetle,Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Article
- The Effect of Differing Levels of Intrasexual and Intersexual Selection on Survival and Reproduction Under a Heatwave.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- A non-invasive method for profiling the gut microbiome and virome of honey bee queens.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Parental thermal environment affects offspring resilience to winter and spring weather anomalies.Current research in insect science · 2026Article
- Testing for pre- and post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance in the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum.PloS one · 2026Article
- Reproductive physiological impacts of high ambient temperature on animals: the impaired testicular function and compromised sperm quality in C57BL/6 mice.Biological research · 2025Article
- Reproductive success in the anthropocene: A view through a One Health lens.The anthropocene review · 2025Review
- Does genetic rescue disrupt local adaptation? An experimental test using thermally adaptedProceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Cryptic Reproductive Costs of Heatwaves for Animal Populations.Global change biology · 2025Review
- Facultative polyandry under heat stress and the evolutionary potential for climate-driven shifts in mating systems.Heredity · 2025Article
- Long-Term Phenological Shifts in Butterfly Species from Transylvania, Romania-A Case Study.Insects · 2025Article
- Within- and Across-Generational Effects of Temperature: Exposure ofEcology and evolution · 2025Article
33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Climate change is affecting biodiversity, but proximate drivers remain poorly understood. Here, we examine how experimental heatwaves impact on reproduction in an insect system. Male sensitivity to heat is recognised in endotherms, but ectotherms have received limited attention, despite comprising most of biodiversity and being more influenced by temperature variation. Using a flour beetle model system, we find that heatwave conditions (5 to 7 °C above optimum for 5 days) damaged male, but not female, reproduction. Heatwaves reduce male fertility and sperm competitiveness, and successive heatwaves almost sterilise males. Heatwaves reduce sperm production, viability, and migration through the female. Inseminated sperm in female storage are also damaged by heatwaves. Finally, we discover transgenerational impacts, with reduced reproductive potential and lifespan of offspring when fathered by males, or sperm, that had experienced heatwaves. This male reproductive damage under heatwave conditions provides one potential driver behind biodiversity declines and contractions through global warming.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.