Maternal investment and early thermal conditions affect performance and antipredator responses.

ABSTRACT: Exposure to increased temperatures during early development can lead to phenotypic plasticity in morphology, physiology, and behavior across a range of ectothermic animals. In addition, maternal effects are known to be important contributors to phenotypic variation in offspring. Whether the 2 factors interact to shape offspring morphology and behavior is rarely explored. This is critical because climate change is expected to impact both incubation temperature and maternal stress and resource allocation. Using a fully factorial design, and Bayesian multivariate mixed models, we explored how the manipulation of early thermal environment and yolk-quantity in eggs affected the morphology, performance, and antipredator behavior of 2 sympatric Australian skink species (Lampropholis delicata</

SUBMITTER: Iglesias-Carrasco M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11107847 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature