Extreme weather change and the dynamics of oviposition behavior in the pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor

Abstract

Prospects of global increases in extreme weather change provide incentive to examine how such change influences animal behavior, for example, behavior associated with resource use. In this study, we examined how oviposition behavior in a southern Arizona population of pipevine swallowtails (Battus philenor L.) responded to changes in their Aristolochia host resource and vegetative background caused by the North American monsoon system. Summer monsoon rains resulted in a flush of non-host vegetation and a more than doubling in rate of landings by host-searching females on non-host vegetation. Rates of discovery of the host species A. watsoni Woot. Standl. decreased by 50% after monsoon rains. Rains did not alter host density appreciably, but resulted in significant increases in host plant size and new growth, two indicators of host suitability for B. philenor larvae. After the rains, mean clutch size on individual host plants increased by a factor of 2.5; the mean proportion of host plants encountered on which a female laid eggs also increased significantly. Females were discriminating about the host plants on which they laid eggs after alightment; plants accepted for oviposition were larger, bore more new growth, and bore fewer larvae than rejected plants. Contrary to predictions from foraging theory, degree of discrimination did not change seasonally. Finally, the rate at which eggs were laid increased seasonally, suggesting that oviposition rates were limited more before monsoon rains by the relatively low quality of hosts than they were after the rains by the relatively low rate at which hosts were found. This latter result suggests that, while butterflies possess behavioral flexibility to respond to extreme weather change, such flexibility may have limits. In particular, expected increases in the severity and frequency of droughts may result in reduced oviposition rates, reductions that could have adverse demographic consequences.

Not all toxic butterflies are toxic: high intra‐ and interspecific variation in sequestration in subtropical swallowtails

“…, Fordyce , Klitzke and Brown , Sime , Papaj et al. ). Troidine swallowtails are predominantly tropical and subtropical, occurring in lowland forests of Central and South America, with two genera recognized in the New World, Battus and Parides (Weintraub ).…”

“…One group of butterflies that sequester chemical defenses from their host plants are swallowtail butterflies in the Troidini (Papilionidae) tribe (Nishida et al 1993, Fordyce 2000, Klitzke and Brown 2000, Sime 2002, Papaj et al 2007). Troidine swallowtails are predominantly tropical and subtropical, occurring in lowland forests of Central and South America, with two genera recognized in the New World, Battus and Parides (Weintraub 1995).…”

Beyond climate envelopes: effects of weather on regional population trends in butterflies

“…These may prove to be important drivers of climate-related impacts on species populations (Ehrlich et al 1980; Morecroft et al 2002; Jentsch et al 2008; Piessens et al 2009). The impact of weather extremes may directly affect populations by increased mortality (Mercader and Scriber 2008) and reduced reproduction (Papaj et al 2007) or indirectly by changes in host plant availability (Piessens et al 2009) or changing rates of parasitism and predation (Dennis 1993; Menéndez et al 2008; Parmesan et al 2000). …”

Designing ecological climate change impact assessments to reflect key climatic drivers

“…With an eye to the potential impacts of climate change, ecological research has increasingly focused on climatic variability (Wang & Dillon, ; Vázquez et al ., ; Boyd et al ., ) and extreme events (Jentsch et al ., ; Smith, ; Knapp et al ., ; Bailey & van de Pol, ). Studies have demonstrated the implications of climatic variance and extremes for behavior (Rubenstein, ; Papaj et al ., ; Frick et al ., ), demography (Sæther, ; Langin et al ., ; Jónsson et al ., ), distributions (Reside et al ., ; Bateman et al ., ), community composition (Albright et al ., ; Hoover et al ., ), mass mortality events (McKechnie & Wolf, ; Anderegg et al ., ), fire dynamics (Westerling et al ., ; Littell et al ., ; Abatzoglou & Kolden, ), carbon cycling (Frank et al ., ), and invasive species (Vilà et al ., ; Diez et al ., ; Sheppard et al ., ), among others. The temporal scale at which extreme events are defined varies from daily to multidecadal timescales, with the timescale of interest dependent on the impact of interest (e.g., heat‐induced mortality versus annual gross primary productivity).…”