Elevational differences in developmental plasticity determine phenological responses of grasshoppers to recent climate warming

Abstract

Annual species may increase reproduction by increasing adult body size through extended development, but risk being unable to complete development in seasonally limited environments. Synthetic reviews indicate that most, but not all, species have responded to recent climate warming by advancing the seasonal timing of adult emergence or reproduction. Here, we show that 50 years of climate change have delayed development in high-elevation, season-limited grasshopper populations, but advanced development in populations at lower elevations. Developmental delays are most pronounced for early-season species, which might benefit most from delaying development when released from seasonal time constraints. Rearing experiments confirm that population, elevation and temperature interact to determine development time. Population differences in developmental plasticity may account for variability in phenological shifts among adults. An integrated consideration of the full life cycle that considers local adaptation and plasticity may be essential for understanding and predicting responses to climate change.

Exploring the universal ecological responses to climate change in a univoltine butterfly

“…; Buckley et al . ). Here, we show that changes in wing length and phenology of the univoltine butterfly, Hesperia comma , are partly dependent upon temporal variation in monthly summer‐time temperatures during key stages of their life cycle (Fig.…”

Interactions between rates of temperature change and acclimation affect latitudinal patterns of warming tolerance

“…Here too, however, complexity exists about the relationships, depending on the organisms and the environments they inhabit, and the methods adopted for investigation of these effects (Stillman, 2003; Sunday et al ., 2012; Kaspari et al ., 2015). Importantly, understanding of how rate variation might affect assessments of plasticity in critical thermal limits, whether these interactions show any consistent variation among taxa owing to phylogenetic or environmental propinquity, and their implications for extinction scenarios under climate change, is poorly developed, despite the importance of comprehending the short-term vs. long-term costs and benefits of physiological plasticity (Chevin et al ., 2013; Buckley et al ., 2015b; Catullo et al ., 2015). …”

Do different rates of gene flow underlie variation in phenotypic and phenological clines in a montane grasshopper community?

“…The grasshoppers eat a variety of forbs and grasses with the exception of the grass specialist A. clavatus. However, laboratory-based rearing experiments have suggested that some physiological traits in M. sanguinipes vary as a result of phenotypic plasticity Buckley et al, 2015). while these species also exhibit higher thermal limits .…”

“…The species overwinter in an egg diapause and are univoltine (annual) with the exception of A. clavatus, which takes 2 years to develop at higher elevations (Alexander & Hilliard, 1964). Furthermore, phenological patterns are known to be related to developmental plasticity, as the early-season species M. boulderensis and C. pellucida slow their development rate (in terms of physiological time) at the high-elevation site in response to warming (Buckley et al, 2015). All species increase feeding and digestion rates with temperature, but the temperature dependence of performance (hopping distance) varies among species .…”

“…Early seasonal species are often adapted for rapid development, which can lead them to capitalize on warming and exhibit the most pronounced phenological shifts (Buckley et al, 2015). Consistent will limited phenological overlap reducing gene flow, the alpine populations of A. clavatus and M. boulderensis were found to be particularly genetically isolated and also to exhibit phenotypic differentiation.…”