Reduced male fertility of an Antarctic mite following extreme heat stress could prompt localized population declines

Climate change is leading to substantial global thermal changes, which are particularly pronounced in polar regions. Therefore, it is important to examine the impact of heat stress on the reproduction of polar terrestrial arthropods, specifically, how brief extreme events may alter survival. We observed that sublethal heat stress reduces male fecundity in an Antarctic mite, yielding females that produced fewer viable eggs. Females and males collected from microhabitats with high temperatures showed a similar reduction in fertility. This impact is temporary, as indicated by recovery of male fecundity following return to cooler, stable conditions. The diminished fecundity is likely due to a drastic reduction in the expression of male-associated factors that occur in tandem with a substantial increase in the expression of heat shock proteins. Cross-mating between mites from different sites confirmed that heat-exposed populations have impaired male fertility. However, the negative impacts are transient as the effect on fertility declines with recovery time under less stressful conditions. Modeling indicated that heat stress is likely to reduce population growth and that short bouts of non-lethal heat stress could have substantial reproductive effects on local populations of Antarctic arthropods.