Abstract
How temperature influences development has direct relevance to ascertaining the impact of climate change on natural populations. Reptiles have served as empirical models for understanding how the environment experienced by embryos can influence phenotypic variation, including sex ratio, phenology and survival. Such an understanding has important implications for basic eco-evolutionary theory and conservation efforts worldwide. While there is a burgeoning empirical literature of experimental manipulations of embryonic thermal environments, addressing widespread patterns at a comparative level has been hampered by the lack of accessible data in a format that is amendable to updates as new studies emerge. Here, we describe a database with nearly 10, 000 phenotypic estimates from 155 species of reptile, collected from 300 studies manipulating incubation temperature (published between 1974–2016). The data encompass various morphological, physiological, behavioural and performance traits along with growth rates, developmental timing, sex ratio and survival (e.g., hatching success). This resource will serve as an important data repository for addressing overarching questions about thermal plasticity of reptile embryos.
Highlights
Background & SummaryConditions experienced early in life are known to impact phenotypes in profound ways that can have longlasting effects on fitness[1,2]
Understanding the extent to which developmental environments impact phenotypes is important for addressing many fundamental questions in ecology and evolutionary biology3–5, as well as predicting the effect environmental change will have on populations both locally and globally[1,6]
Ectothermic vertebrates in particular are sensitive to variation in early developmental temperature, which often is mediated by local climatic conditions, landscape features as well as maternal nest site choice or maternal basing behaviour
Summary
Conditions experienced early in life are known to impact phenotypes in profound ways that can have longlasting effects on fitness[1,2]. There is currently no database collating and summarising this vast literature in a way that is amenable to updates as the literature grows or that can be expanded to address questions on the impacts of temperature, and other environmental conditions (e.g., moisture, pH) that may be relevant to phenotypic development and survival. As the database grows and more detailed and realistic thermal conditions are applied experimentally, resolving uncertainty surrounding this question will be possible It will be important in establishing the impact thermal conditions have in nature, where temperatures typically vary on daily and longer time scales. Phenotypic plasticity is predicted to play an important role in early stages of adaptation to changing environmental conditions[17,18] or novel environments (as encountered by invasive species19) and thermal plasticity is expected to feature strongly in this process for ectotherms. Unpublished data can be submitted through downloaded data templates, and queries can be sought by emailing the team (contact details are on the webpage)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
