Specificity Responses of Grasshoppers in Temperate Grasslands to Diel Asymmetric Warming

Abstract

BackgroundGlobal warming is characterized by not only an increase in the daily mean temperature, but also a diel asymmetric pattern. However, most of the current studies on climate change have only concerned with the mean values of the warming trend. Although many studies have been conducted concerning the responses of insects to climate change, studies that address the issue of diel asymmetric warming under field conditions are not found in the literature.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe conducted a field climate manipulative experiment and investigated developmental and demographic responses to diel asymmetric warming in three grasshopper species (an early-season species Dasyhippus barbipes, a mid-season species Oedaleus asiaticus, and a late-season species Chorthippus fallax). It was found that warming generally advanced the development of eggs and nymphs, but had no apparent impacts on the hatching rate of eggs, the emergence rate of nymphs and the survival and fecundity of adults in all the three species. Nighttime warming was more effective in advancing egg development than the daytime warming. The emergence time of adults was differentially advanced by warming in the three species; it was advanced by 5.64 days in C. fallax, 3.55 days in O. asiaticus, and 1.96 days in D. barbipes. This phenological advancement was associated with increases in the effective GDDs accumulation.Conclusions/SignificanceResults in this study indicate that the responses of the three grasshopper species to warming are influenced by several factors, including species traits, developmental stage, and the thermal sensitivity of the species. Moreover, species with diapausing eggs are less responsive to changes in temperature regimes, suggesting that development of diapausing eggs is a protective mechanism in early-season grasshopper for avoiding the risk of pre-winter hatching. Our results highlight the need to consider the complex relationships between climate change and specificity responses of invertebrates.

A Global Review on Locusts (Orthoptera: Acrididae) and Their Interactions With Livestock Grazing Practices

“…It is univoltine with one generation per year, hatching in early June and undergoing five juvenile instars prior to molting into adults in mid-July (Ma et al, 2009;Cease et al, 2010). With climate warming, O. asiaticus is likely to hatch earlier, develop faster, and shift northward (Guo et al, 2009;Wu et al, 2012), though its capacity to withstand high temperatures as eggs may be limited (Hao and Kang, 2004).…”

From Molecules to Management: Mechanisms and Consequences of Locust Phase Polyphenism

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Night warming on hot days produces novel impacts on development, survival and reproduction in a small arthropod

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