UV-B radiation interacts with temperature to determine animal performance

The interaction between UV-B and temperature can modify the effects of climate variability on animal function because UV-B and increasing temperatures may increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and thereby impair animal performance. However, antioxidant enzyme activities are also increased at higher temperatures, which could counteract negative effects of increased ROS. Conversely, UV-B exposure at lower temperature can exacerbate the effects of ROS because of lower antioxidant enzyme activities.
Phenotypes can be plastic to compensate for potentially negative environmental effects. Plasticity may be induced by conditions experienced during pre- or early post-zygotic development, and it may occur reversibly within adult organisms (acclimation). Developmental plasticity and acclimation may interact to determine phenotypes in variable environments. Here, we tested the hypothesis that increased antioxidant enzyme activities are insufficient to alleviate the interactive effects ...