Project description
How the world’s largest bird copes with temperature fluctuations
Large animals are susceptible to heat stress, and small animals are vulnerable to cold conditions. To survive, animals have to adapt. With this in mind, the ERC-funded ClimAdaptLife project will test whether genomic adaptations that increase heat resilience compromise cold resilience. The project will also investigate genes that increase thermal resilience during early life to determine whether they have opposing effects later in life. Specifically, the project will study the ostrich, the largest bird on Earth, monitoring it in large numbers under natural temperature conditions. Body temperature measurements and genotypes of 2 000 juveniles and adults will be examined. Also, a partnership with a South African research station will provide data on 11 700 juveniles and 1 800 adults exposed to the natural climate over 25 years.
Objective
Increasing climatic fluctuations mean that animals need to evolve increased heat resilience whilst simultaneously coping with cold periods throughout their lives. Large animals are particularly susceptible to temperature fluctuations as their large size when mature exposes them to heat stress, and their small size when juvenile exposes them to cold stress. I will test two hypotheses that are central to understanding how large species evolve to cope with temperature fluctuations: 1) Genomic adaptations that increase heat resilience compromise cold resilience. 2) Genes that increase thermal resilience during early life have opposing effects on thermal resilience later in life.
Testing these hypotheses requires identifying the genomic basis of thermal resilience. This has remained elusive in large animals because of difficulties in 1) rearing high numbers of large animals, 2) exposing them to natural temperature fluctuations and 3) obtaining measurements of fitness related traits such as growth of juveniles and reproduction of adults. I will solve these issues by studying the largest bird on Earth, the ostrich, monitored in large numbers under natural temperature conditions. This will allow me to take an interdisciplinary approach combining body temperature measurements and cutting-edge genotyping of 2000 juveniles and adults. A close partnership with a South African research station will enable me to utilise data of growth and reproduction of 11700 juveniles and 1800 adults exposed to the natural climate over 25 years. To test the importance of identified genes for local climatic adaptation I will genotype natural populations of ostriches across climatic gradients. My work will resolve how genes conferring resilience to heat influence the ability to cope with cold, and if the same genes are important across different life-stages. This will shape our understanding of thermal evolution in endothermic animals at a critical time.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Host institution
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark