Temperature Effects on Immune Function in Aquatic Organisms
Summary
Temperature exerts a profound influence on the immune function of aquatic organisms, which, as ectotherms, rely on ambient conditions to regulate metabolic and defence processes. Suboptimal cold stress frequently suppresses both innate effectors—such as phagocytic activity, complement pathways and antimicrobial peptides—and adaptive components, notably lymphocyte proliferation and antibody production. Conversely, elevated temperatures within tolerable ranges can accelerate immune kinetics but may also intensify oxidative stress and energy allocation trade-offs, undermining disease tolerance. Seasonal and developmental temperature fluctuations further reshape basal immunocompetence, modulating cytokine expression and microbial interactions in mucosal tissues. These thermal effects govern host–pathogen dynamics, influencing the prevalence and severity of infections in wild populations and aquaculture systems. Understanding the mechanistic basis of temperature-mediated immunoregulation is critical for forecasting disease outbreaks under climate change and for developing management strategies—such as tailored vaccination regimes and environmental controls—to safeguard aquatic animal health and optimise production.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Temperature Effects on Immune Function in Aquatic Organisms publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in temperature effects on immune function in aquatic organisms across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Innate immunity: first line of defence relying on non-specific cellular and molecular mechanisms.
Adaptive immunity: pathogen-specific response involving lymphocyte activation and antibody production.
Immunocompetence: capacity of an organism to mount an effective immune response.
Ectotherm: organism whose body temperature is determined by ambient environmental conditions.
Lipopolysaccharide: component of bacterial cell walls used experimentally to stimulate immune responses.
References
- Partitioning the environmental drivers of immunocompetence. The Science of The Total Environment (2020).
- Impacts of Low Temperature on the Teleost Immune System. Biology (2017).
- Mediterranean Aquaculture in a Changing Climate: Temperature Effects on Pathogens and Diseases of Three Farmed Fish Species. Pathogens (2021).
- Seasonal immunoregulation in a naturally-occurring vertebrate. BMC Genomics (2016).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.