Fertility loss and recovery dynamics after repeated heat stress across life stages in male Drosophila melanogaster: Patterns and processes

Frequent and extreme temperatures associated with climate change pose a major threat to biodiversity, particularly for organisms whose metabolism is strictly linked to ambient temperatures. Many studies have explored thermal effects on survival, but heat-induced fertility loss is emerging as a greater threat to population persistence. However, while evidence is accumulating both juvenile and adult stages heat exposure can impair fertility in their own ways, much less is known about the immediate and longer-term fitness consequences of repeated heat stress across life stages. To address this knowledge gap, we used male Drosophila melanogaster to investigate (i) the cumulative fitness effects of repeated heatwaves across life stages, (ii) the potential of recovery from these heat-exposed, and (iii) the underlying mechanisms. We found individual and combined effects of chronic juvenile and acute adult heat stress on male fitness traits. These effects tended to exacerbate over several days ..., , , \#Fertility Loss and Recovery Dynamics After Repeated Heat Stress Across Life Stages in Male Drosophila melanogaster: Patterns and Processes

\##Authors

Abhishek Meena, Alessio N. De Nardo, Komal Maggu, Sonja Sbilordo, Jeannine Roy, Rhonda R. Snook, Stefan Lüpold

\##Overview

This dataset was collected to analyze fertility, fecundity, hatching success, seminal vesicle area, sperm presence/absence, accessory gland area, and sperm viability (dead and alive sperm) assays in male Drosophila melanogaster. The data is presented in three R Markdown (Rmd) files and three CSV files. The analyses focus on various factors influencing reproductive success under chronic developmental and 4 hours of acute adult temperature conditions.

\##Contents

The dataset includes the following files:

Fitness_Assay.csv: This CSV file contains the raw data used in the Fitness_Assay.Rmd analysis.

ReproductiveOrgan.Rmd: This R Markdown file analyzes seminal vesicle area, sperm presence/absence, and accessory gl...