Keep your cool: Overwintering physiology in response to urbanization in the acorn ant, Temnothorax curvispinosus

In temperate environments most species of insects enter an arrested state of development, known as diapause, that enables them to survive the adverse environmental conditions associated with winter. Although diapause is restricted to a single life stage within species of insects, there are examples of insects that overwinter in the egg, larval, pupal and adult stages. Here we offer a targeted, non-systematic literature review examining how overwintering impacts subsequent reproduction in female insects. Several factors, including the lifestage at which insects overwinter, the type of energy investment strategy females use for breeding, elements of the winter environment, and contributions from male insects can influence trade-offs that female insects face between overwintering survival and post-diapause reproduction. Additionally, climate change and elements of the urban environment, including light pollution and higher temperatures in cities, can exacerbate or ameliorate trade-offs faced by reproducing female insects. Better understanding trade-offs between overwintering survival and reproduction in insects not only enhances our understanding of the underlying physiological mechanisms and ecological processes governing diapause and reproduction, but also provide opportunities to better manage insect pests and/or support beneficial insects.

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Physiology Evolves Convergently but Lags Behind Warming in Cities

Diamond,

Kolaske,

Martin

2024

Integrative and Comparative Biology

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Cities, through the generation of urban heat islands, provide a venue for exploring contemporary convergent evolution to climatic warming. We quantified how repeatable the evolution of heat tolerance, cold tolerance, and body size were among diverse lineages in response to urban heat islands. Our study revealed significant shifts towards higher heat tolerance and diminished cold tolerance among urban populations. We further found that the magnitude of trait divergence was significantly and positively associated with the magnitude of the urban heat island, suggesting that temperature played a major role in the observed divergence in thermal tolerance. Despite these trends, the magnitude of trait responses lagged behind environmental warming. Heat tolerance responses exhibited a deficit of 0.84°C for every 1°C increase in warming, suggesting limits on adaptive evolution and consequent adaptational lags. Other moderators were predictive of greater divergence in heat tolerance, including lower baseline tolerance and greater divergence in body size. Although terrestrial species did not exhibit systematic shifts towards larger or smaller body size, aquatic species exhibited significant shifts towards smaller body size in urban habitats. Our study demonstrates how cities can be used to address long-standing questions in evolutionary biology regarding the repeatability of evolution. Importantly, this work also shows how cities can be used as forecasting tools by quantifying adaptational lags and by developing trait-based associations with responses to contemporary warming.

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Keep your cool: Overwintering physiology in response to urbanization in the acorn ant, Temnothorax curvispinosus

Cited by 3 publications

References 55 publications

Cross-talk between low temperature and other environmental factors

Cross-talk between low temperature and other environmental factors

Trade-offs between Winter Survival and Reproduction in Female Insects

Physiology Evolves Convergently but Lags Behind Warming in Cities

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