Geographic differences and microevolutionary changes in thermal sensitivity of butterfly larvae in response to climate

Abstract

Summary1. Rapid evolution of physiological traits in response to novel thermal environments has rarely been demonstrated in natural populations. 2. We studied the temperature dependence [thermal performance curves (TPCs)] of larval feeding rate for two populations each of Colias eurytheme and Colias eriphyle in North America that occur over a range of elevations and climates. Using historical data for two of the populations, we assessed changes over time in both air temperatures and TPCs for larval feeding. 3. Populations at lower elevations with longer growing seasons had broader TPCs for larval feeding. In contrast, higher elevation populations with shorter growing seasons had higher optimal and maximal temperatures for feeding. 4. Overall mean air temperatures during the growing season showed little change at the two sites, but the frequency of high air temperatures (>28°C) has increased markedly at both sites over the past 40 years. This climatic shift was associated with increased rates of larval feeding at higher temperatures (>28°C) in both populations. 5. These results suggest that recent climate warming has led to physiological shifts in the TPCs for larval feeding in this system, indicating that thermal adaptation can occur rapidly in response to changing thermal conditions.

Exploring the universal ecological responses to climate change in a univoltine butterfly

“…Furthermore, warmer June temperatures may improve larval food quality ( Festuca ovina ) and increase rate of feeding (Higgins et al . ), leading to larger adult sizes. Finally, and in line with predictions from Horne, Hirst & Atkinson (), years with warm June temperatures are, on average, likely to have more days of sunshine, effectively producing a longer larval growing season leading to increased size of the final instar and subsequent adult size.…”

Historical changes in thermoregulatory traits of alpine butterflies reveal complex ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change

“…Plasticity may either facilitate evolution through enabling persistence or hinder evolution through buffering selection [28]. Montane Colias exhibit plasticity where increased temperature during pupal development decreases melanism [10,29]. Thus, we expect directional selection and phenotypic plasticity to interact for montane Colias.…”

“…However, there is some evidence for evolutionary changes in body size [3], coloration relative to background matching [4][5][6], and phenology; specifically the timing of diapause [7], of nesting [8] and of flowering [9]. Evidence for evolutionary or historical changes in traits relevant to thermal physiology is limited (but see [10][11][12][13]) Natural history collections offer a largely untapped resource to examine morphological responses to climate change [14]. In particular, insects are abundant in these collections and the thermal significance of morphological traits has been extensively documented for some species.…”

The roles of microclimatic diversity and of behavior in mediating the responses of ectotherms to climate change

“…Although connections between climate change and ecological shifts are obvious, and even relatively well understood in some systems (Higgins et al, 2013;Kearney et al, 2010), we still lack a framework for understanding those connections in a quantitative, predictive, and mechanistic way (Helmuth et al, 2005;Huey et al, 2012;Williams et al, 2008). A key problem is that the effects of climate change can be manifest via multiple pathways, such that simple one-to-one mappings-between change in a climate variable and in the physiology or ecology of a focal taxon-will rarely if ever occur (Newman et al, 2011).…”