A comprehensive database of thermal developmental plasticity in reptiles.

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.

Developmental temperatures and phenotypic plasticity in reptiles: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Early environments can profoundly influence an organism in ways that persist over its life. In reptiles, early thermal environments (nest temperatures) can impact offspring phenotype and survival in important ways, yet we still lack an understanding of whether general trends exist and the magnitude of impact. Understanding these patterns is important in predicting how climate change will affect reptile populations and the role of phenotypic plasticity in buffering populations.