Data from: Temperature-induced developmental plasticity in Plodia interpunctella: reproductive behaviour and sperm length.

In both plants and animals, male gametogenesis is particularly sensitive
to heat stress, to the extent that a single hot or cold day can compromise
crop productivity or population persistence. In animals, heat stress
during development can impact a male’s ability to secure copulations
and/or his post-copulatory fertility. Despite such observations,
relatively few studies have examined the consequences of developmental
temperature on the reproductive behaviour and physiology of individuals.
Here we report for the first time the effects of developmental temperature
on the phenotypic expression of both apyrene and eupyrene sperm and the
copulatory behaviour of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella. We
show that the length of both apyrene and eupyrene sperm decrease with
increasing developmental temperature and that males are less likely to
engage in copulation when reared at the highest and lowest temperatures.
Where copulation occurred, the duration of copula decreased as male
developmental temperature increased. We argue that identification of the
mechanisms and consequences of reproductive failure in animals facing heat
stress will help understand how wild and domesticated populations will
respond to global climate change. We also contend that such studies will
help elucidate long-standing evolutionary questions around the maintenance
of genetic variation in traits highly relevant to fitness and the role of
phenotypic plasticity in driving the evolution of novel traits.