Project description DEENESFRITPL How heatwaves impact reproduction Heatwaves are a growing climate change-related risk. Despite plenty of research on the impact of climate change, little is known about the impact of heatwaves on reproduction in terms of fertility, morphology and behaviour. The EU-funded HeatWaveSS project will study how heatwaves affect reproductive success and ultimately biodiversity. The project aims to understand how parental exposure influences offspring health and the long-term consequences on populations. Guppy populations will be exposed to experimental heatwaves during ontogeny or after attaining sexual maturity to assess the consequences on morphology, fertility, and reproductive behaviour across two generations. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Heatwaves are a current problem faced by society and are increasing in frequency and intensity under ongoing climate change. While many climate change studies exist, those investigating the consequences of heatwaves are scarce, especially in relation to reproduction. The extreme temperatures experienced during heatwaves are likely to have negative effects on many aspects of reproduction (including fertility, morphology and behaviour), thus for the persistence of populations and, ultimately, biodiversity. Therefore, studying how heatwaves affect reproduction is a key issue that should be addressed now.This project aims to study how heatwaves affect traits important for reproductive success, to understand the long term consequences of heatwaves on populations, and how parental exposure affects the fitness of offspring. Experimental guppy populations (P. reticulata) will be exposed to experimental heatwaves either during ontogeny or after attaining sexual maturity (reflecting the unpredictable nature of heatwaves). The consequences on morphology, fertility, and reproductive behaviour across two generations will be assessed. The sex ratio of the populations (the proportion of males to females ready to mate) will also be manipulated, since sex ratios fluctuate naturally and importantly affect mating decisions and reproductive investment, and thus effects of heatwaves may differ according to the sex ratio of the population.By investigating the effects of heatwaves at different levels, data from this project will offer unique insights into their effects on individuals and populations, thus contributing to our understanding of the consequences of climate change and the processes underlying responses to environmental changes. Through enhanced knowledge in the fields of behavioural ecology, reproductive biology, and evolutionary biology, the proposed project will contribute to the progress of the European scientific community, with potential applications in conservation. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesevolutionary biologysocial sciencessociologydemographyfertilitynatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesbehavioural ecologynatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesreproductive biology Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2020 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2020 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA Net EU contribution € 183 473,28 Address VIA 8 FEBBRAIO 2 35122 Padova Italy See on map Region Nord-Est Veneto Padova Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 183 473,28