Animal reproduction in the tropics and subtropics: matching innovation with resilience and reality.

Climate variability poses a major challenge to reproductive performance in tropical and subtropical livestock systems, where prolonged droughts, irregular rainfall, heat stress, and abrupt nutritional restrictions can disrupt reproductive function. Thus, future research should focus on integrated, context-specific strategies that combine reproductive technologies with adapted genetics, management, nutrition, disease prevention, and accessible reproductive health services. Particular attention should be given to locally adapted breeds and populations, whose reproductive resilience conventional productivity metrics may not adequately capture. Genetic improvement should therefore be evaluated by animals' ability to maintain reproductive function and productivity under the specific constraints of their production environments. Research should also prioritize strategies that tolerate climatic and nutritional disruptions rather than relying on predictable seasonal patterns. Importantly, research should be conducted in collaboration with producers and communities to ensure practical relevance, adoption, and sustainability. The future of animal reproduction in tropical and subtropical regions should therefore focus on identifying and implementing species- and context-specific combinations of technologies and practices that maintain reproductive function under increasingly variable and unpredictable environments.