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Abstract:
Global climate is changing at a rapid pace and the pivotal question is if the rate and extent of species’
responses to stressful events enable them to persist in a changing world. Although the consequences
of rapid environmental changes on animal life-history traits are receiving considerable attention, our
understanding of how temperature fluctuations affect sexual chemical communication in animals is
scarce. Male-female interactions often depend on pheromone detectability and sudden shifts in environmental
temperature are expected to disrupt communication between potential mates. Whether
organisms can adapt to temperature-induced changes at both signaller and receiver levels is virtually
unexplored. In this perspective paper, we first provide a broad overview of the sex pheromone
pathway, from biosynthesis to detection, and outline the importance of chemical-based mate choice.
Finally, through several study cases, we highlight how thermal stress may interfere with chemical
communication between the sexes, and discuss the potential evolutionary consequence of temperature
stress.
