DOI: 10.5061/dryad.9s4mw6mqf
title: Short-term heat waves have long-term consequences for parents and offspring in stickleback

description: Extreme temperature events, such as heat waves, can have lasting effects
 on the behavior, physiology, and reproductive success of organisms. Here
 we examine the impact of short-term exposure to a simulated heat wave on
 condition, parental care, and reproductive success in a population of
 threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a small fish with
 exclusive paternal care, currently experiencing regular heat waves. Males
 were either exposed to a simulated heat wave (23°C) for five days or held
 at an ideal temperature (18°C). All males had offspring that were raised
 at 18°C. We found that while mass and body condition were unaffected in
 males exposed to a heat wave, cortisol responses were dampened across the
 nesting cycle compared to control males. In addition, heat wave males had
 longer latency for eggs to hatch, lower hatching success, and were unable
 to parent at the same level as control males. Offspring of heat wave males
 had lower body condition, affecting swimming performance. Altogether, our
 results highlight the long-term impact that even short-term events can
 have on reproductive success, parental behavior, and subsequent
 generations, providing insight into population responses to rapid
 environmental change.
description: This code analyzes data from male stickleback pre- and post-heat
 wave exposure. Males assigned to the control group were placed in
 individual tanks at 18°C for five days. Males in the heat group were
 placed in individual tanks at 23°C for five days. All males were then
 transferred to new individual tanks at 18°C and measured for time to build
 a nest, hatching success, and paternal care behaviors.
 This code analyzes mass and length data from male stickleback
 pre-heat wave exposure (pre-treatment), post-heat wave exposure
 (post-treatment), and post-parenting. Males assigned to the control group
 had mass measured five days post-initial measurement.
 Additionally, this code analyzes cortisol from water. Cortisol
 was collected pre-treatment, post-treatment, and post-parenting. Males
 assigned to the control group had cortisol collected five days
 post-initial measurement. Finally, this code analyzes
 life-history traits such as days to build a nest, latency to hatch, and
 percent hatching success for control and heat wave males.
 In offspring, this code analyzes juvenile offspring length, mass,
 body condition, and behavior in a scototaxis assay.
description: # Short-term heat waves have long-term consequences for parents and
 offspring in stickleback
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9s4mw6mqf](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9s4mw6mqf) ## Description of the data and file structure Four separate data files were used for analysis, described below. ### weightLength.csv This file contains the weight and length of all males in the study, regardless of whether or not they successfully parented. Variables: * ID: Assigned ID for an individual male fish * Stage: Whether measurement was taken pre-treatment, post-treatment, or post-parenting * Treatment: Whether the male was in the control group (Control) or treatment (Heat) * Date: Date measurements were collected * Weight: Mass in grams * Length: Length in cm * AvgLength: Length averaged across pre-treatment, post-treatment, and post-parenting * FirstNest: Date nest was completed (NA if never built a nest) * TimeToNest: Days between post-treatment and nest completion (NA if never built a nest) * Nests: Total number of attempted nests * Success: Whether the male courted the female successfully (Y/N) (NA if never built a nest) ### cortData.csv This file contains all cortisol data. Variables: * Fish.ID: Assigned ID for an individual male fish * Treatment: Whether the male was in the control group (Control) or treatment (Heat) * Setup: Date males completed treatment and were placed in a new tank * PreWeight: Mass immediately post-treatment in grams * Length: Length post-treatment in cm * sampleID: Assigned sample ID for ELISA plate * Stage: Whether measurement was taken pre-treatment, post-treatment, or post-parenting * Date: Date ELISA plate was run and read * Cort: Cortisol calculated from plate standard curve (pg/mL) * Dilution: Dilution factor of sample * Plate: ELISA plate containing the sample ### parentMaster.csv This file contains morphological and reproductive data for all males that parented in the study. This file does not contain any parenting behavior data. Variables: * ID: Assigned ID for an individual male fish * Treatment: Whether the male was in the control group (Control) or treatment (Heat) * Setup: Date males completed treatment and were placed in a new tank * PreWeight: Mass immediately post-treatment in grams * Length: Length post-treatment in cm * DaysToNest: Number of days between setup and nest built * NestDate: Date nest completed * FemaleBefore: Mass of paired female before courtship (g) * FemaleAfter: Mass of paired female post-courtship (g) * EggMass: FemaleAfter - FemaleBefore (g) * Laid: Date of successful courtship * Hatched: Date first fry were visible * LatencyHatch: Number of days between Laid and Hatched * Success: Whether eggs hatched and the nest was successful (Y/N) * HatchedEggs: Total number of fry four days post-hatch ### finalParentData.csv This file contains all parenting behavioral data. The first 15 columns are also present in *parentMaster.csv* and are described above. Variables: * Stage: Day of the nest cycle. Egg day 0 (ED0) is the day eggs were laid. Egg day 1 (ED1) is one day post-fertilization, etc. Fry-day 1 (FD1) is the first day the fry was observed. * Observer: Initials of the person recording behavioral data. * TTFan: Total time fanning (s) * Fan: Number of fanning bouts * FanProp: Proportion of time fanning across total observation window (300 s) * Glue: Number of times an individual glued his nest * TTNest: Total time within one body length of the nest (s) * Nest: Number of nest visits (within one body length of the nest) * NestProp: Proportion of time at the nest across the total observation window (300 s) * Poke: Number of times male rearranged nesting material with rostrum * Retrieve: Number of fry retrievals (male takes fry into his mouth and spits them back into the nest) ### offspringLengthBehavior.csv This file contains all offspring morphological and behavioral data. Variables: * ID: Assigned ID for an individual fish * Dad: Assigned ID for the father of the individual * Treatment: Whether the individual's father was in the control group (Control) or treatment (Heat) * DadLength: Length of the father (cm) * DadFanAvg: Fanning averaged over the nesting cycle (s) * Date: Date offspring were measured * Density: Total number of fish in the rearing tank at the time of measurement * Mass: Offspring mass (g) * Length: Offspring length (cm) * BlackTT: Total time in the black side of the assay (s) * Black: Number of times the black side was visited * BlackProp: Proportion of time individual spent in the black side * JerkySwims: Number of jerky swims (quick dart in one direction) * PodTT: Total time in acclimation pod (s) * PodProp: Proportion of time in acclimation pod * SwimTT: Total time swimming (s) * Swim: Number of swimming bouts * SwimProp: Proportion of time individual spent swimming * WhiteTT: Total time in white side of the assay (s) * White: Number of times white side was visited * WhiteProp: Proportion of time individual spent in the white side ## Code/Software The full R script is uploaded as a markdown file.