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High-Throughput Assays of Critical Thermal Limits in Insects
Published on: June 15, 2020
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Geographic divergence in upper thermal limits across insect life stages: does behavior matter?
Heidi J MacLean1, Jessica K Higgins2, Lauren B Buckley3
1Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA. hmaclean@live.unc.edu.
Oecologia
|February 7, 2016
Summary
Butterfly life stages show varied heat tolerance. Adult butterflies use behavior to cope with heat, while eggs rely on physiological limits, indicating complex adaptations across insect development.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Physiology
Background:
- Insects with complex life cycles exhibit variations in size, mobility, and thermal ecology across different life stages.
- Understanding these variations is crucial for comprehending insect adaptation to diverse environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how thermoregulatory behavior capacity influences geographic differences in physiological heat tolerance in butterfly eggs and adults.
- To compare thermal tolerances and behaviors between different life stages and species of Colias butterflies across elevational gradients.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of egg hatching success, development time, and survival under heat shock across different elevations.
- Laboratory experiments assessing adult butterfly survival and heat shock response.
- Common-garden experiments to observe heat-avoidance and overheating behaviors in adults at a controlled site.
Main Results:
- Egg survival declined above 38-40°C, with shortest development times at 33-38°C, irrespective of origin elevation.
- Adult butterflies from higher elevations showed significantly greater heat shock survival.
- Colias meadii adults displayed earlier heat-avoidance behaviors than C. eriphyle adults.
Conclusions:
- Thermoregulatory behavior in mobile adult butterflies does not inhibit the geographic divergence of physiological traits.
- Sessile egg stages may evolve similar heat tolerances due to microclimatic variability or evolutionary constraints.
- Examining thermal tolerances across all life stages is essential for a comprehensive understanding of insect adaptation.
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