Data from: Transgenerational plasticity of reproduction depends on rate of warming across generations

Predicting the impacts of climate change to biological systems requires an understanding of the ability for species to acclimate to the projected environmental change through phenotypic plasticity. Determining the effects of higher temperatures on individual performance is made more complex by the potential for environmental conditions experienced in previous and current generations to independently affect phenotypic responses to high temperatures. We used a model coral reef fish (Acanthochromis polyacanthus) to investigate the influence of thermal conditions experienced by two generations on reproductive output and the quality of offspring produced by adults. We found that more gradual warming over two generations, +1.5 °C in the first generation and then +3.0 °C in the second generation, resulted in greater plasticity of reproductive attributes, compared to fish that experienced the same increase in one generation. Reproduction ceased at the projected future summer temperature (31.5 °C) when fish experienced +3.0 °C for two generations. Additionally, we found that transgenerational plasticity to +1.5 °C induced full restoration of thermally affected reproductive and offspring attributes, which was not possible with developmental plasticity alone. Our results suggest that transgenerational effects differ depending on the absolute thermal change and in which life stage the thermal change is experienced.预测气候变化对生物系统的影响，需理解物种通过表型可塑性（phenotypic plasticity）适应预期环境变化的能力。由于亲代与当代所经历的环境条件可独立影响生物体对高温的表型响应，因此确定高温对个体表现的影响变得更为复杂。本研究以模式珊瑚礁鱼类棘光鳃鱼（Acanthochromis polyacanthus）为研究对象，探究两代个体所经历的热环境条件对成体繁殖产出及其子代质量的影响。研究发现，与仅在单一代中完成同等总升温幅度的个体相比，两代逐步升温（第一代升温1.5℃，第二代再升温3.0℃）的处理组，其繁殖相关性状的可塑性显著提升。当鱼类连续两代均处于3.0℃升温环境时，在预测的未来夏季水温（31.5℃）下其繁殖活动会完全停止。此外，本研究发现，针对1.5℃升温产生的跨代表型可塑性（transgenerational plasticity）可完全修复受高温影响的繁殖及子代相关性状，而仅依靠发育可塑性无法实现这一效果。本研究结果表明，跨代效应的差异取决于绝对升温幅度以及热胁迫发生的生命阶段。