Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Understanding how animals respond to environmental stressors across their life cycle is essential for predicting species’ vulnerability to climate change. Here, we systematically reviewed the literature to quantify the variation in research effort on different life stages in the field of conservation physiology. Specifically, we reviewed experimental studies measuring physiological and life-history responses to climatic stressors across three scientific journals: Conservation Physiology, Journal of Thermal Biology, and Journal of Experimental Biology. Our systematic map of 1,276 studies revealed a pronounced underrepresentation of studies on embryos, representing only 8-9% of studies. This pattern was remarkably consistent across all axes considered (i.e., journals, taxonomic groups, physiological traits, and environmental stressors). We also found that 80% of studies only investigated single life stages, and over 5% of studies did not clearly report the life stage(s) used. Despite the increasing recognition of the ecological importance and sensitivity of early life stages to environmental stressors, we found no evidence that research on embryos has gained traction over the past decade (2013-2024). We argue that these ontogenetic biases likely reflect a combination of historical precedents and enduring methodological and logistical constraints that continue to shape research agendas. To build a more holistic understanding across the life cycle, we: i) call for a paradigm shift placing embryos at the center of experimental agendas, ii) outline emerging methodological advances that increase the feasibility of research on early life stages, iii) demonstrate how studies on embryos can navigate ethical considerations for animal research, iv) highlight perspectives for future evidence syntheses and study reporting, and v) promote investigations of the mechanisms underlying physiological variation across ontogeny. Closing the ontogenetic gap will be key to improving our ability to predict population-level impacts of climate change and guiding more effective conservation and management interventions.
DOI: 10.32942/x2kp96
Authors: Patrice Pottier, Nicholas Wu, Madison Earhart, Malgorzata Lagisz, Katharina Alter, Rafael Angelakopoulos, Avishikta Chakraborty, Zara-Louise Cowan, Shaun Killen, Jamie McCoy, Estefany Caroline Guevara-Molina, Marta Moyano, Amanda Pettersen, Luca Pettinau, Daniel Ripley, Bao-Jun Sun, Ramakrishnan Vasudeva, Katharina Ruthsatz
Institutions: Murdoch University, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Harry Butler Institute, University of Rostock, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, UNSW Sydney, University of Thessaly, University College London, University of Gothenburg, University of Glasgow, University of Sheffield, University of Agder, Norwegian Institute for Water Research, The University of Sydney, University of Tasmania, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Wageningen University & Research, New York University Abu Dhabi, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology, University of Exeter
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4413370462