Facultative polyandry protects females from compromised male fertility caused by heatwave conditions

Females are able to recover fertility through polyandry when male fertility is compromised by heatwaves. Facultative polyandry enables females to recover from losses to fitness which can have consequences both at the individual level as well as at the population level. Across the animal kingdom females of many species mate multiply and the costs of mating multiply can be mitigated by polyandry. Under global climate change heatwaves are getting more intense and persistent with male-specific sterily becoming commonplace in many species (especially ectotherms). Here we show how polyandry could be a key proximate mechanism in improving female fitness between mating episodes.