Global heating poses a serious threat to Australia’s birds: reply to Pacheco-Fuentes <i>et al</i>.

Conradie, Shannon R; Woodborne, Stephan; Wolf, Blair O.; Pessato, Anaïs; Mariette, Mylène M.; McKechnie, Andrew E.

doi:10.1093/conphys/coac011

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Patterns of thermal physiology documented in the present study are similar to those reported at high temperatures in zebra finches 17 , 49 , 54 and other small desert passerines in Australia 53 , 60 . These data, together with our finding of a heat tolerance limit close to T a = 44 °C (even though thermal endpoints were not specifically elicited in our study), add to the evidence that, under the same experimental conditions, Australian arid-zone passerines generally possess lower heat tolerance than their counterparts from North America and southern Africa 10 , 53 , 61 and non-passerine taxa that employ gular flutter or high rate of cutaneous evaporative heat dissipation 11 . Lastly, sex differences, with a higher T b in females at high T a and lower water loss at thermoneutrality, are particularly interesting.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

A prenatal acoustic signal of heat affects thermoregulation capacities at adulthood in an arid-adapted bird

Pessato

McKechnie

Mariette

2022

Sci Rep

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Understanding animal physiological adaptations for tolerating heat, and the causes of inter-individual variation, is key for predicting climate change impacts on biodiversity. Recently, a novel mechanism for transgenerational heat adaptation was identified in a desert-adapted bird, where parents acoustically signal hot conditions to embryos. Prenatal exposure to “heat-calls” adaptively alters zebra finch development and their thermal preferences in adulthood, suggesting a long-term shift towards a heat-adapted phenotype. However, whether such acoustic experience improves long-term thermoregulatory capacities is unknown. We measured metabolic rate (MR), evaporative water loss (EWL) and body temperature in adults exposed to a stepped profile of progressively higher air temperatures (Ta) between 27 and 44 °C. Remarkably, prenatal acoustic experience affected heat tolerance at adulthood, with heat-call exposed individuals more likely to reach the highest Ta in morning trials. This was despite MR and EWL reaching higher levels at the highest Ta in heat-call individuals, partly driven by a stronger metabolic effect of moderate activity. At lower Ta, however, heat-call exposed individuals had greater relative water economy, as expected. They also better recovered mass lost during morning trials. We therefore provide the first evidence that prenatal acoustic signals have long-term consequences for heat tolerance and physiological adaptation to heat.

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