TY - JOUR

T1 - How butterflies keep their cool

T2 - physical and ecological traits influence thermoregulatory ability and population trends

AU - Bladon, Andrew

AU - Lewis, Matthew

AU - Bladon, Eleanor

AU - Buckton, Sam

AU - Corbett, Stuart

AU - Ewing, S.R.

AU - Hayes, Matthew

AU - Hitchcock, Gwen

AU - Knock, Richard

AU - Lucas, Colin

AU - McVeigh, Adam

AU - Menendez Martinez, Rosa

AU - Walker, Jonah

AU - Fayle, Tom

AU - Turner, Edgar

PY - 2020/11/1

Y1 - 2020/11/1

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

U2 - 10.1111/1365-2656.13319

DO - 10.1111/1365-2656.13319

M3 - Journal article

VL - 89

SP - 2440

EP - 2450

JO - Journal of Animal Ecology

JF - Journal of Animal Ecology

SN - 0021-8790

IS - 11

ER -