Adaptive Behavioral Responses Research Articles

Immune system and types of Immune responses

Immunity is an evolutionarily conserved defense strategy, inherent in both plants and animals, for disease tolerance. It confers the host protection against viral, bacterial, protozoan, and fungal infections. Immune system cells emanate from the bone marrow and subsequently move to the peripheral tissues to defend them. They travel through the bloodstream and the lymphatic system, which is a specialized system of channels. They do so after maturation in the bone marrow These pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells give birth to all types of blood cells, earning them the name pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells. The monocyte, neutrophil, and natural killer (NK) compartments represent the initial line of defense for innate immunological responses among immune cells Adaptive immune system or (behavioral immune response); The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a part of the immune system that comprises of specialized, systemic cells and processes that kill infections by inhibiting their proliferation. Innate and adaptive immune systems are separated into two categories, each with its own role. Innate immune system or cell-mediated immune response. Adaptive immune system or behavioral immune response. Innate immune system or (cell-mediated immune response); Anti-infection systems in the body's immune response can be engaged swiftly if a pathogen attacks.

The Basal Forebrain Modulates Neuronal Response in an Active Olfactory Discrimination Task.

Successful completion of sensory decision-making requires focusing on relevant stimuli, adequate signal/noise ratio for stimulus discrimination, and stimulus valence evaluation. Different brain regions are postulated to play a role in these computations; however, evidence suggests that sensory and decision-making circuits are required to interact through a common neuronal pathway to elicit a context-adequate behavioral response. Recently, the basal forebrain (BF) region has emerged as a good candidate, since its heterogeneous projecting neurons innervate most of the cortical mantle and sensory processing circuits modulating different aspects of the sensory decision-making process. Moreover, evidence indicates that the BF plays an important role in attention and in fast modulation of neuronal activity that enhance visual and olfactory sensory perception. Here, we study in awake mice the involvement of BF in initiation and completion of trials in a reward-driven olfactory detection task. Using tetrode recordings, we find that BF neurons (including cholinergics) are recruited during sensory discrimination, reward, and interestingly slightly before trial initiation in successful discrimination trials. The precue neuronal activity was correlated with animal performance, indicating that this circuit could play an important role in adaptive context-dependent behavioral responses.

Long non-coding RNA Neat1 regulates adaptive behavioural response to stress in mice

NEAT1 is a highly and ubiquitously expressed long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) which serves as an important regulator of cellular stress response. However, the physiological role of NEAT1 in the central nervous system (CNS) is still poorly understood. In the current study, we addressed this by characterising the CNS function of the Neat1 knockout mouse model (Neat1−/− mice), using a combination of behavioural phenotyping, electrophysiology and expression analysis. RNAscope® in situ hybridisation revealed that in wild-type mice, Neat1 is expressed across the CNS regions, with high expression in glial cells and low expression in neurons. Loss of Neat1 in mice results in an inadequate reaction to physiological stress manifested as hyperlocomotion and panic escape response. In addition, Neat1−/− mice display deficits in social interaction and rhythmic patterns of activity but retain normal motor function and memory. Neat1−/− mice do not present with neuronal loss, overt neuroinflammation or gross synaptic dysfunction in the brain. However, cultured Neat1−/− neurons are characterised by hyperexcitability and dysregulated calcium homoeostasis, and stress-induced neuronal activity is also augmented in Neat1−/− mice in vivo. Gene expression analysis showed that Neat1 may act as a weak positive regulator of multiple genes in the brain. Furthermore, loss of Neat1 affects alternative splicing of genes important for the CNS function and implicated in neurological diseases. Overall, our data suggest that Neat1 is involved in stress signalling in the brain and fine-tunes the CNS functions to enable adaptive behaviour in response to physiological stress.

Interleukin 6-independent metabolic reprogramming as a driver of cancer-related fatigue

Fatigue is a common and debilitating symptom of cancer with few effective interventions. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is often associated with increases in inflammatory cytokines, however inflammation may not be requisite for this symptom, suggesting other biological mediators also play a role. Because tumors are highly metabolically active and can amplify their energetic toll via effects on distant organs, we sought to determine whether CRF could be explained by metabolic competition exacted by the tumor. We used a highly metabolically active murine E6/E7/hRas model of head and neck cancer for this purpose. Mice with or without tumors were submitted to metabolic constraints in the form of voluntary wheel running or acute overnight fasting and their adaptive behavioral (home cage activity and fasting-induced wheel running) and metabolic responses (blood glucose, ketones, and liver metabolic gene expression) were monitored. We found that the addition of running wheel was necessary to measure activity loss, used as a surrogate for fatigue in this study. Tumor-bearing mice engaged in wheel running showed a decrease in blood glucose levels and an increase in lactate accumulation in the skeletal muscle, consistent with inhibition of the Cori cycle. These changes were associated with gene expression changes in the livers consistent with increased glycolysis and suppressed gluconeogenesis. Fasting also decreased blood glucose in tumor-bearing mice, without impairing glucose or insulin tolerance. Fasting-induced increases in wheel running and ketogenesis were suppressed by tumors, which was again associated with a shift from gluconeogenic to glycolytic metabolism in the liver. Blockade of IL-6 signaling with a neutralizing antibody failed to recover any of the behavioral or metabolic outcomes. Taken together, these data indicate that metabolic competition between the tumor and the rest of the organism is an important component of fatigue and support the hypothesis of a central role for IL-6-independent hepatic metabolic reprogramming in the pathophysiology of CRF.

“I Quit”: Testing the Added Value and Sequencing Effects of an Efficacy-focused Message among Cigarette Warning Labels

Many emotional appeal theorists argue that negative affect and efficacy work together to promote adaptive behavioral responses to a threat, yet most research on cigarette warning label messages has not examined the intersection between negative affect, hope, and efficacy. The current study tests effects of exposure, at different points in a sequence, to an efficacy-focused warning label in the context of threat-focused warning labels. We conducted an online, between- and within-subjects experiment with 398 adult smokers, testing the effects of warning label exposure on negative affect, hope, efficacy beliefs, and intentions to quit. Exposure to the efficacy-focused “Quit” label aroused higher levels of reported hope and lower levels of reported negative affect than threat-focused labels. Negative affect increased with each additional exposure to a threat-focused warning label, regardless of the order in which respondents saw the “Quit” label. Exposure to the “Quit” label (within a larger set of three threat-focused labels) led to greater self-efficacy but did not influence response efficacy or intentions to quit. We conclude that “Quit” messaging on warning labels can inspire both hopeful feelings and efficacy beliefs. Future research should identify the optimal balance between threat-focused and hopeful quit messages.

A system for the high-throughput analysis of acute thermal avoidance and adaptation in C. elegans.

Nociception and its plasticity are essential biological processes controlling adaptive behavioral responses in animals. These processes are also linked to different pain conditions in human and have received considerable attention, notably via studies in rodent models and the use of heat-evoked withdrawal behavior assays as a readout of unpleasant experience. More recently, invertebrates have also emerged as useful complementary models, with their own set of advantages, including their amenability to genetic manipulations, the accessibility and relative simplicity of their nervous system and ethical concerns linked to animal suffering. Like humans, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) can detect noxious heat and produce avoidance responses such as reversals. Here, we present a methodology suitable for the high-throughput analysis of C. elegans heat-evoked reversals and the adaptation to repeated stimuli. We introduce two platforms: the INFERNO (for infrared-evoked reversal analysis platform), allowing the quantification of the thermal sensitivity in a petri dish containing a large population (> 100 animals), and the ThermINATOR (for thermal adaptation multiplexed induction platform), allowing the mass-adaptation of up to 18 worm populations at the same time. We show that wild type animals progressively desensitize in response to repeated noxious heat pulses. Furthermore, analyzing the phenotype of mutant animals, we show that the mechanisms underlying baseline sensitivity and adaptation, respectively, are supported by genetically separable molecular pathways. In conclusion, the presented method enables the high-throughput evaluation of thermal avoidance in C. elegans and will contribute to accelerate studies in the field with this invertebrate model.

Surveillance of Baladi Goat Feeding Behavior in Response to a Mediterranean Natural Rangeland Evolution

The Lebanese Baladi goat dairy production sector suffers from food availability problems due to the dependence on natural rangelands and the scarcity of crop residues and forage pastures, leading to lower production. Thus, the nutritional values of the pastures were evaluated in an observational study where 48 Baladi lactating goats were selected and kept within a farm in Qâa er Rîm located in the region of Zahleh, Lebanon. Animal responses in feeding behavior were measured on four different circuits of natural rangelands (NR1, NR2, NR3, and NR4) surrounding the farm site, during a period of ≈75 d (from April to mid-June). Observations and measures consisted of evaluating the rangeland’s botanical composition, selective feeding and analysis of forage nutritional values, recording of daily foraging dynamic, and estimation of daily intake. Natural rangelands revealed a large botanical diversity that changed according to season and altitude: From NR1 to NR4, as summer season advanced and animals were moved to higher altitudes, bushes increased, whereas grasses retreated. In parallel, mean diet nutritional value decreased; dry matter (DM) content increased, as well as acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber contents, while crude protein levels decreased. The animals, however, adapted their feeding dynamics on the rangelands accordingly: With the advancement of summer time, total duration of grazing day was increased in order to compensate for longer resting periods at noon and longer walking periods in higher altitudes, without a decrease in total feeding duration. On the other hand, animals were able to adjust their feeding regimen to the available plant species by increasing their daily intake of 0.56 kg/d between NR1 and NR3 and by substituting grasses with shrubby species; a shift from 25% to 28% to 53% to 54% DM in the animals’ diet. These adaptive behavioral responses explain the capacity of Baladi goats to survive in their harsh environment and even tolerate feeding perturbations.

Impacts of salmon lice on mortality, marine migration distance and premature return in sea trout

Brown trout Salmo trutta (L.) is a facultative anadromous species, where a portion of individuals in populations with access to the sea perform migrations to use the richer feeding resources. We investigated the effect of salmon lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer 1837) infestation on the survival and behaviour of wild trout post-smolts (average fork length = 180 mm) during their marine migration. Comparisons of the marine migratory behaviour were made between an artificially infested group (n = 74) and a control group (n = 71) in an area with low natural lice infestation pressure. Artificial infestation was estimated to cause 100% prevalence and a mean intensity of 65 lice fish-1 (mean relative intensity of 2.4 lice g-1 fish). Survival analysis showed limited statistical power but revealed lice-induced mortality, with an estimated hazard ratio of 2.73 (95% CI = 1.04-7.13) compared to the control group, when data from a previous pilot study were included. Surviving individuals in the infested group additionally responded by residing closer to fresh water while at sea, and by prematurely returning to fresh water. On average, infested fish returned to fresh water after only 18 d at sea, while control fish spent on average 100 d at sea. The residency in the inner part of the fjord and the premature return to fresh water represent an adaptive behavioural response to survive the infestation, at the probable cost of reduced growth opportunities and compromised future fitness.

Distinct Dorsal and Ventral Hippocampal CA3 Outputs Govern Contextual Fear Discrimination

SUMMARYConsiderable work emphasizes a role for hippocampal circuits in governing contextual fear discrimination. However· the intra- and extrahippocampal pathways that route contextual information to cortical and subcortical circuits to guide adaptive behavioral responses are poorly understood. Using terminal-specific optogenetic silencing in a contextual fear discrimination learning paradigm· we identify opposing roles for dorsal CA3-CA1 (dCA3-dCA1) projections and dorsal CA3-dorsolateral septum (dCA3-DLS) projections in calibrating fear responses to certain and ambiguous contextual threats· respectively. Ventral CA3-DLS (vCA3-DLS) projections suppress fear responses in both certain and ambiguous contexts· whereas ventral CA3-CA1 (vCA3-vCA1) projections promote fear responses in both these contexts. Lastly· using retrograde monosynaptic tracing· ex vivo electrophysiological recordings· and optogenetics,· we identify a sparse population of DLS parvalbumin (PV) neurons as putative relays of dCA3-DLS projections to diverse subcortical circuits. Taken together· these studies illuminate how distinct dCA3 and vCA3 outputs calibrate contextual fear discrimination.

Relationship between sensory processing patterns, trait anxiety, and health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis.

Sensory processing patterns may predict health-related quality of life. This study examined this relationship in persons with multiple sclerosis considering trait anxiety as a potential mediator. Participants (n = 94) completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile and other self-report measures at one time point. Sensory processing patterns were significantly associated with trait anxiety and health-related quality of life. Direct and indirect effects of sensory processing patterns were identified on physical health-related quality of life, and indirect effects were identified on mental health-related quality of life. Facilitating adaptive behavioral responses to sensory information may promote health-related quality of life in this population.

Longitudinal Impact of Parental Catastrophizing on Child Functional Disability in Pediatric Amplified Pain.

ObjectiveChildren with amplified musculoskeletal pain (AMPS) experience significant functional disability, with impairment in their ability to participate in age-appropriate activities of daily living. Parental factors play an important role in a child’s pain symptoms and treatment outcomes, with parental pain catastrophizing and protective behaviors linked to several maladaptive outcomes for children. Aims of the current study were to examine how parental pain catastrophizing, child pain catastrophizing, and parental protective behaviors longitudinally impacted functional disability for children with AMPS.MethodsArchival data were examined from parent-child dyads presenting to a tertiary pain clinic for treatment of AMPS. Over 1 year, parents completed measures assessing the level of pain catastrophizing, common behavioral responses to child pain, and child functional disability. Children completed measures of pain catastrophizing and functional disability. Measures were collected at initial evaluation, 6-months, and 12-months. Latent growth models (LGM) were conducted to examine how to study variables longitudinally impacted the rate of change in child functional disability.ResultsExamining a comprehensive LGM of study variables, parental catastrophizing emerged as the sole contributing factor to slower improvement in functional disability.ConclusionsThe strong influence of parental pain catastrophizing on functional disability may relate to parents limiting behaviors that promote adaptive coping in children with pain. As such, parents who catastrophize may benefit from specific interventions to increase their use of adaptive behavioral responses, such as redirecting children to complete functional activities and encouraging the use of positive coping skills for pain-related distress.

Emerging roles of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the nervous system: A link with adaptive behavior to environmental stress?

Stressors elicit a neuroendocrine response leading to increased levels of glucocorticoids, allowing the organism to adapt to environmental changes and maintain homeostasis. Glucocorticoids have a broad effect in the body, modifying the activity of the immune system, metabolism, and behavior through the activation of receptors in the limbic system. Chronic exposition to stressors operates as a risk factor for psychiatric diseases such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Among the cellular alterations observed as a consequence of environmental stress, alterations to organelle function at the level of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are emerging as possible factors contributing to neuronal dysfunction. ER proteostasis alterations elicit the unfolded protein response (UPR), a conserved signaling network that re-establish protein homeostasis. In addition, in the context of brain function, the UPR has been associated to neurodevelopment, synaptic plasticity and neuronal connectivity. Recent studies suggest a role of the UPR in the adaptive behavior to stress, suggesting a mechanistic link between environmental and cellular stress. Here, we revise recent evidence supporting an evolutionary connection between the neuroendocrine system and the UPR to modulate behavioral adaptive responses.

A wake-up call for sleepy lizards: the olfactory-driven response of Tiliqua rugosa (Reptilia: Squamata: Sauria) to smoke and its implications for fire avoidance behavior

Many reptiles occur in landscapes that are prone to fire, yet limited information is available on the cues these species use to detect approaching fires or their immediate and preemptive behavioral responses to fire stimuli. Here, we describe the behavioral response of ten captive sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) that were inadvertently exposed to light smoke. Proportionately, significantly more individuals that were exposed to smoke exhibited increased activity, including swift pacing, repeated escape behaviors, and rapid olfactory-related tongue-flicking than those that were not exposed, which did not exhibit any such changes in activity or behaviors. Additionally, of 14 reptile species housed in the smoke-affected area, T. rugosa was the only species to exhibit a noticeable behavioral response. Since there were no visible flames, sounds of fire, reductions in light levels or visibility, or increases in temperature, these observations suggest that T. rugosa detects smoke through olfaction. Moreover, because most individuals were captive-born and, therefore, naive to smoke or fire, this response likely represents an adaptive innate behavioral response of the species. We discuss these findings in the light of fire avoidance behavior in Tiliqua and reptiles in general.

THE PREDICTIVE EFFECTS OF PROTECTION MOTIVATION THEORY ON ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS URBAN AIR QUALITY

In urban areas, the rigid division of residential, commercial, employment and recreational areas forms a reliance on road transport, which leads to high levels of emission that gradually affects the quality of the urban environment. We establish the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) as a framework for explaining adaptive behavioural responses among urban communities in Malaysia. Participants (N = 450) answered to face-to-face questionnaire survey, and the results specify establishment for the proposed model, with perceived vulnerability (H1) (ß = 0.246, t = 4.534, P=0.000) and and self-efficacy (H3) (ß = 0.510, t = 9.653, P=0.000) positively predicting adaptive behaviour on urban air pollution. The results presented that these structures were able to predict 47% of the variance of adaptive behaviour. The study establishes a significant contribution to the literature by contributing an indication of PMT as an ideal framework for adaptive behavioural responses on urban air pollution.

A cellular defense memory imprinted by early life toxic stress

Stress exposure early in life is implicated in various behavioural and somatic diseases. Experiences during the critical perinatal period form permanent, imprinted memories promoting adult survival. Although imprinting is widely recognized to dictate behaviour, whether it actuates specific transcriptional responses at the cellular level is unknown. Here we report that in response to early life stresses, Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes form an imprinted cellular defense memory. We show that exposing newly-born worms to toxic antimycin A and paraquat, respectively, stimulates the expression of toxin-specific cytoprotective reporters. Toxin exposure also induces avoidance of the toxin-containing bacterial lawn. In contrast, adult worms do not exhibit aversive behaviour towards stress-associated bacterial sensory cues. However, the mere re-encounter with the same cues reactivates the previously induced cytoprotective reporters. Learned adult defenses require memory formation during the L1 larval stage and do not appear to confer increased protection against the toxin. Thus, exposure of C. elegans to toxic stresses in the critical period elicits adaptive behavioural and cytoprotective responses, which do not form imprinted aversive behaviour, but imprint a cytoprotective memory. Our findings identify a novel form of imprinting and suggest that imprinted molecular defenses might underlie various pathophysiological alterations related to early life stress.

Cortico-Limbic Interactions Mediate Adaptive and Maladaptive Responses Relevant to Psychopathology.

Cortico-limbic circuits provide a substrate for adaptive behavioral and emotional responses. However, dysfunction of these circuits can result in maladaptive responses that are associated with psychopathology. The prefrontal-limbic pathways are of particular interest because they facilitate interactions among emotion, cognition, and decision-making functions, all of which are affected in psychiatric disorders. Regulatory aspects of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are especially relevant to human psychopathology, as the PFC, in addition to its functions, is more recent from an evolutionary perspective and is considerably more complex in human and nonhuman primates compared with other species. This review provides a neuroanatomical and functional perspective of selected regions of the limbic system, the medial temporal lobe structures-the hippocampus and amygdala as well as regions of the PFC. Beyond the specific brain regions, emphasis is placed on the structure and function of critical PFC-limbic circuits, linking alterations in the processing of information across these pathways to the pathophysiology and psychopathology of various psychiatric illnesses.

Chicken adaptive response to low energy diet: main role of the hypothalamic lipid metabolism revealed by a phenotypic and multi-tissue transcriptomic approach

BackgroundProduction conditions of layer chicken can vary in terms of temperature or diet energy content compared to the controlled environment where pure-bred selection is undertaken. The aim of this study was to better understand the long-term effects of a 15%-energy depleted diet on egg-production, energy homeostasis and metabolism via a multi-tissue transcriptomic analysis. Study was designed to compare effects of the nutritional intervention in two layer chicken lines divergently selected for residual feed intake.ResultsChicken adapted to the diet in terms of production by significantly increasing their feed intake and decreasing their body weight and body fat composition, while their egg production was unchanged. No significant interaction was observed between diet and line for the production traits. The low energy diet had no effect on adipose tissue and liver transcriptomes. By contrast, the nutritional challenge affected the blood transcriptome and, more severely, the hypothalamus transcriptome which displayed 2700 differentially expressed genes. In this tissue, the low-energy diet lead to an over-expression of genes related to endocannabinoid signaling (CN1R, NAPE-PLD) and to the complement system, a part of the immune system, both known to regulate feed intake. Both mechanisms are associated to genes related polyunsaturated fatty acids synthesis (FADS1, ELOVL5 and FADS2), like the arachidonic acid, a precursor of anandamide, a key endocannabinoid, and of prostaglandins, that mediate the regulatory effects of the complement system. A possible regulatory role of NR1H3 (alias LXRα) has been associated to these transcriptional changes. The low-energy diet further affected brain plasticity-related genes involved in the cholesterol synthesis and in the synaptic activity, revealing a link between nutrition and brain plasticity. It upregulated genes related to protein synthesis, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid oxidation in the hypothalamus, suggesting reorganization in nutrient utilization and biological synthesis in this brain area.ConclusionsWe observed a complex transcriptome modulation in the hypothalamus of chicken in response to low-energy diet suggesting numerous changes in synaptic plasticity, endocannabinoid regulation, neurotransmission, lipid metabolism, mitochondrial activity and protein synthesis. This global transcriptomic reprogramming could explain the adaptive behavioral response (i.e. increase of feed intake) of the animals to the low-energy content of the diet.

Epileptic Seizures: Glia-Neuron Interactions For Better or For Worse.

Investigations of the mechanisms generating epileptic seizures have primarily focused on neurons. However, more systemic research of brain circuits has highlighted an important role of non-neuronal cells such as glia in the genesis and spreading of generalized seizures in the brain.

Does vegetation change over 28 years affect habitat use and reproductive success?

Abstract Individuals should prefer and use habitats that confer high fitness, but habitat use is not always adaptive. Vegetation in natural landscapes changes gradually and the ability of species to adaptively adjust their habitat use to long-term changes is largely unstudied. We studied nest patch and territory use over 28 yr in Orange-crowned Warblers (Oreothlypis celata) in a system that has undergone natural long-term changes in vegetation. Abundance of maple (Acer grandidentatum), its preferred nesting habitat, gradually declined from 1987 to 2015. We examined whether habitat use and its fitness consequences changed as the availability of preferred habitat decreased. We used resource selection function models to determine changes over time in the probability of using a nest patch given available patches, and the probability of using a territory given available territories. We estimated nest survival to evaluate changes over time in the fitness consequences of nest patch use. We also compared habitat use (nest patch and territory) and fitness (nest survival) between areas with naturally reduced abundance of maple and experimentally increased abundance of maple (fenced areas). Nest patch use depended on maple abundance and did not change drastically across 28 yr, even though the availability of preferred maple patches decreased over time. In contrast, nest survival tended to decrease over time. We did not see differences in nest patch use and nest survival between unfenced and fenced areas, unlike territory use, which increased with the abundance of maple in fenced areas and decreased in unfenced areas. Our study depicts one example of relatively unchanged habitat use in the face of decreased availability of preferred vegetation across years, with a resulting decrease in reproductive success. Investigating changes in habitat use and fitness consequences for animals exposed to long-term habitat change is necessary to understand adaptive behavioral responses.

Thermal heterogeneity along the migration corridors of sea turtles: Implications for climate change ecology

Increased temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change are becoming a major challenge for species. In particular, species that migrate over long distances are affected by altered climatic conditions at the various sites they frequent and en route. Here, we investigated whether climatic conditions experienced by sea turtles during their migration would change in the future. We focused on the post-nesting migrations of female loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean region, to explore climatic variability along four main migration corridors and their surrounding environment. We also modeled the impact of earlier onset of migration, as a potential adaptive behavioral response of Mediterranean loggerheads. We found that over the next 80 years, sea turtles will be exposed to significant increases in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) along their key migration corridors and the surrounding area (mean rate of 0.24 °C increase per decade). The projected increase in SST falls outside the range of SSTs currently reported within the examined corridors, but falls below the threshold defined as the upper thermal limit for this species. A highly variable climatic mosaic was identified within the distinct segments of the corridors. We found no evidence to support that phenological shifts might result in turtles being exposed to climatic conditions that are similar to current levels, in the future. Our outputs offer the first comprehensive spatial assessment of climatic patterns along extended areas used for the migration of sea turtles and highlight the need to quantify the relationship between altered conditions and species physiological and energetic status. This regional analysis could provide a background methodological framework for mapping and assessing spatiotemporal patterns of climatic variability along migratory areas of marine megafauna.