Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Author Spotlight: Influence of Temperature on Drosophila melanogaster and Desert-Adapted Beetles
Published on: July 7, 2023
The fingerprints of global climate change on insect populations
1School of the Earth, Ocean & Environment, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Abstract:
Synthesizing papers from the last two years, I examined generalizations about the fingerprints of climate change on insects' population dynamics and phenology. Recent work shows that populations can differ in response to changes in climate means and variances. The part of the thermal niche occupied by an insect population, voltinism, plasticity and adaptation to weather perturbations, and interactions with other species can all exacerbate or mitigate responses to climate change. Likewise, land use change or agricultural practices can affect responses to climate change. Nonetheless, our knowledge of effects of climate change is still biased by organism and geographic region, and to some extent by scale of climate parameter.
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
What is Climate?
Threats to Biodiversity
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
Migration

