Pre-fertilization gamete thermal environment influences reproductive success, unmasking opposing sex-specific responses in Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar )

• DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231427
• Publication Date: 2023-12-13T08:09:29Z
• Authors: Marco Graziano; Monica F. Solberg; Kevin A. Glover; Ramakrishnan Vasu...; Lise Dyrhovden; David Murray; Simone Immler; Matthew J. G. Gage
• Keywords: Gamete

The environment gametes perform in just before fertilization is increasingly recognized to affect offspring fitness, yet the contributions of male and female their adaptive significance remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigated gametic thermal plasticity its effects on hatching success embryo performance Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Eggs sperm were incubated overnight at 2°C or 8°C, temperatures within optimal range this species. Crosses between warm- cold-incubated compared using a full-factorial design, with half each clutch reared cold other warm temperatures. This allowed disentangling single-sex interaction when pre-fertilization temperature mismatched embryonic conditions. Pre-fertilization influenced hatch timing synchrony, matching resulted earlier hatching. Warm incubation benefited eggs but harmed sperm, reducing and, overall, did not enhance indicating vulnerability changes. We highlight sensitivity higher temperatures, that gamete acclimation may effectively buffer against deleterious fluctuations. From an applied angle, propose differential storage as tool sustainability hatcheries.