Files and links (1)
CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
How butterflies keep their cool: Physical and ecological traits influence thermoregulatory ability and population trends
The Journal of animal ecology, Vol.89(11), pp.2440-2450
2020
PMID: 32969021
Abstract
1. Understanding which factors influence the ability of individuals to respond to changing temperatures is fundamental to species conservation under climate change.
2. We investigated how a community of butterflies responded to fine-scale changes in air temperature, and whether species-specific responses were predicted by ecological or morphological traits.
3. Using data collected across a UK reserve network, we investigated the ability of 29 butterfly species to buffer thoracic temperature against changes in air temperature. First, we tested whether differences were attributable to taxonomic family, morphology or habitat association. We then investigated the relative importance of two buffering mechanisms: behavioural thermoregulation versus fine-scale microclimate selection. Finally, we tested whether species' responses to changing temperatures predicted their population trends from a UK-wide dataset.
4. We found significant interspecific variation in buffering ability, which varied between families and increased with wing length. We also found interspecific differences in the relative importance of the two buffering mechanisms, with species relying on microclimate selection suffering larger population declines over the last 40 years than those that could alter their temperature behaviourally.
5. Our results highlight the importance of understanding how different species respond to fine-scale temperature variation, and the value of taking microclimate into account in conservation management to ensure favourable conditions are maintained for temperature-sensitive species.
Details
- Title
- How butterflies keep their cool: Physical and ecological traits influence thermoregulatory ability and population trends
- Authors/Creators
- Andrew J Bladon - University of CambridgeMatthew Lewis - University of CambridgeEleanor K Bladon - University of CambridgeSam J Buckton - University of CambridgeStuart Corbett - Royal Society for the Protection of BirdsSteven R Ewing - Royal Society for the Protection of BirdsMatthew P Hayes - University of CambridgeGwen E Hitchcock - University of BedfordshireRichard Knock - University of BedfordshireColin Lucas - University of SuffolkAdam McVeighRosa Menéndez - Lancaster UniversityJonah M Walker - University of CambridgeTom M Fayle - Institute of EntomologyEdgar C Turner - University of Cambridge
- Publication Details
- The Journal of animal ecology, Vol.89(11), pp.2440-2450
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society
- Number of pages
- 11
- Identifiers
- 991005790873507891
- Copyright
- © 2020 The Authors.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Harry Butler Institute
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites
Metrics
2 File views/ downloads
11 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.40 Forestry
- 3.40.195 Biodiversity Conservation
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Zoology
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science