Descrizione del progetto
L’impatto delle ondate di calore sulla riproduzione
Le ondate di calore rappresentano un crescente rischio legato ai cambiamenti climatici. Nonostante le numerose ricerche svolte sull’impatto esercitato da tali alterazioni, si sa poco sugli effetti delle ondate di calore sulla riproduzione in termini di fertilità, morfologia e comportamento. Il progetto HeatWaveSS, finanziato dall’UE, studierà il modo in cui le ondate di calore influenzano il successo riproduttivo e, in definitiva, la biodiversità. Il progetto si prefigge di comprendere le modalità attraverso cui l’esposizione dei genitori incide sulla salute della prole e le conseguenze a lungo termine sulle popolazioni. Mediante lo svolgimento di esperimenti, alcune popolazioni di lebiste saranno esposte a ondate di calore nel corso dell’ontogenesi o in seguito al raggiungimento della maturità sessuale al fine di comprendere le relative conseguenze su morfologia, fertilità e comportamento riproduttivo nell’arco di due generazioni.
Obiettivo
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.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesevolutionary biology
- social sciencessociologydemographyfertility
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesbehavioural ecology
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesreproductive biology
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
35122 Padova
Italia