Uncovering spatial and temporal variation in avian heat tolerance

Global warming and heatwaves have detrimental effects on the fitness of animal populations worldwide. These challenges are anticipated to intensify.

Yet, our understanding of the fundamental traits that determine success or failure in the heat is inadequate, particularly for warm-blooded animals.

This Project Grant will leverage key insights from my prior research to generate novel knowledge regarding why warm-blooded animals fail in the heat, and whether plasticity or evolution can reduce the likelihood of such failure in the future.

The main outcomes will reveal:The transgenerational plasticity of phenotypic traits associated with thermal acclimation; uncovering if anticipatory parental effects can alleviate heat failure risk in offspring.The evolvabilityof heat tolerance in endotherms and whether plasticity aids or impedes evolutionary adaptation.Whether the physiological basis for heat tolerance is locally adapted in the wild and if it shows signatures of selection.I will generate this transformative knowledge by integrating cutting-edge research in thermal and cellular physiology with artificial breeding and cross-fostering experiments.

I focus on captive and wild bird models, the endotherm group most frequently affected by climate warming.

The grant surpasses the state-of-the-art by i) uncovering the potential for evolutionary or plastic rescue from climate warming and extreme heat; and ii) answering if heat tolerance is already selected upon in wild animal populations.