Local genetic adaptation generates latitude‐specific effects of warming on predator–prey interactions

Abstract

Temperature effects on predator-prey interactions are fundamental to better understand the effects of global warming. Previous studies never considered local adaptation of both predators and prey at different latitudes, and ignored the novel population combinations of the same predator-prey species system that may arise because of northward dispersal. We set up a common garden warming experiment to study predator-prey interactions between Ischnura elegans damselfly predators and Daphnia magna zooplankton prey from three source latitudes spanning >1500 km. Damselfly foraging rates showed thermal plasticity and strong latitudinal differences consistent with adaptation to local time constraints. Relative survival was higher at 24 °C than at 20 °C in southern Daphnia and higher at 20 °C than at 24 °C, in northern Daphnia indicating local thermal adaptation of the Daphnia prey. Yet, this thermal advantage disappeared when they were confronted with the damselfly predators of the same latitude, reflecting also a signal of local thermal adaptation in the damselfly predators. Our results further suggest the invasion success of northward moving predators as well as prey to be latitude-specific. We advocate the novel common garden experimental approach using predators and prey obtained from natural temperature gradients spanning the predicted temperature increase in the northern populations as a powerful approach to gain mechanistic insights into how community modules will be affected by global warming. It can be used as a space-for-time substitution to inform how predator-prey interaction may gradually evolve to long-term warming.

Fitness Effects of Chlorpyrifos in the Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum Strongly Depend upon Temperature and Food Level and Can Bridge Metamorphosis

“…Also the observed patterns in mass at emergence, being higher at the high food level and at lower rearing temperature support previous work in insects [reviewed in 24], including damselflies (e.g. [34]–[35]). The latter observation matches the temperature-size rule [36]: animals reared at a low temperature delay emergence for such a long time that they eventually emerge at a higher mass.…”

Linking trophic interactions to plasticity in thermal sensitivity of geographically separated populations of a herbivore

“…More importantly, the previous studies examined temperature effects on grasshoppers only from the Connecticut site, whereas our study also looked at grasshoppers adapted to a higher latitude site. Our results reinforce the importance of considering responses of individuals from several populations using transplant experiments to derive a more complete, general picture of the link between adaptability to thermal conditions and trophic interactions (Bijlsma and Loeschcke 2005;Barton 2011;De Block et al 2013).…”

“…That is, does phenotypic acclimation translate into altered functional roles of species within communities as climatic conditions change? This uncertainty exists because few field experiments have evaluated the potential for different population level thermal sensitivities to affect community level interactions (Pörtner and Farrell 2008;Somero 2010;Barton 2011;De Block et al 2013;Mattassa and Trussell 2015). To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a study that examined how one community-level function-the nature and strength of trophic interactions-is affected by organismal thermal sensitivity and phenotypic plasticity Our study focused on two distinct populations of a ubiquitous generalist herbivore, the red-legged grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum), inhabiting two similar old fields in regions characterized by different thermal regimes.…”

“…To answer these questions, we carried out a reciprocal transplant experiment (Merilä and Hendry 2014) between M. femurrubrum populations at the ends of a north-south temperature gradient within the northeastern USA. Such a macrophysiological approach to understanding the link between physiology and community level processes (Chown et al 2004) is a robust way to gain insight into how ecological communities may respond to climate change (Barton 2011;De Block et al 2013;Mattassa and Trussell 2015;Williams et al 2015).…”

Urbanisation shapes behavioural responses to a pesticide

“…Note that we fitted sepa-286 rate models for the two types of activity (with and without predator 287 cues), the two types of food intake (with and without predator cues) 288 and the two types of boldness (relative change in grid movements 289 and in food intake). Significant interactions were further analysed 290 Block et al, 2013).…”