Marine teleost fish species in colder environments generally produce larger eggs than those in warmer environments. This pattern is thought to reflect changes in the optimal strategy of allocation to offspring size and number across temperatures, yet quantitative assessments of this hypothesis are lacking. Here, we model optimal offspring size across temperatures in marine teleost fishes based on the trade‐off between offspring survivorship and number. In doing so, we derive quantitative predictions for the relationship of optimal egg size to temperature based on the size and temperature dependences of the growth and mortality, and hence survivorship, of eggs and larvae. Our model shows that smaller eggs are favoured at warmer temperatures largely because egg survivorship declines with both egg size and temperature. The predictions of our model (egg mass in grams = 0.013*e^{−0.11*T ºC}) were comparable to the observed interspecific relationship (0.0029*e^{−0.09*T ºC}; N = 221 spp.). Thus, our results provide insights into how temperature shapes the evolution of egg size in marine teleost fishes.

中文翻译：

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预测海洋硬骨鱼在不同温度下的卵大小

在较冷的环境中，海洋硬骨鱼类通常会比在较温暖的环境中产生更大的卵。人们认为这种模式反映了在整个温度范围内分配给后代大小和数量的最佳策略的变化，但仍缺乏对该假设的定量评估。在这里，我们基于后代存活率和数量之间的权衡，对海洋硬骨鱼类跨温度的最佳后代大小进行建模。在此过程中，我们根据卵和幼虫的生长和死亡率以及存活率的大小和温度的相关性，得出最佳卵大小与温度之间关系的定量预测。我们的模型表明，较小的鸡蛋在较高温度下受到青睐，主要是因为鸡蛋的存活率随鸡蛋大小和温度的降低而下降。e ^{-0.11 * TºC}）与观察到的种间关系相当（0.0029 * e ^{-0.09 * TºC}；N  = 221 spp。）。因此，我们的结果提供了关于温度如何影响硬骨鱼类卵大小演变的见解。