The effectiveness of common thermo-regulatory behaviours in a cool temperate grasshopper

Harris, Rebecca M. B.; McQuillan, PB; Hughes, Lesley

doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.06.001

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Furthermore, high vegetation cover negatively affects early instar survival due to a scarcity of preferable food resources that grow in more disturbed areas (i.e., prostrate and rosette-forming plants growing under pasture; Clark 1967 ). Last, in grasshoppers, basking is a crucial factor to regulate body temperature, facilitated by shuttling between sun and shade ( Chappell and Whitman 1990 ), which is also exhibited by P. vittatum ( Harris et al 2015 ). Compromised thermoregulation due to high vegetation cover and reduction in suitable basking sites could influence fitness and decrease relative abundance ( Kearney et al 2009 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological Variation Tracks Environmental Gradients in an Agricultural Pest,Phaulacridium vittatum(Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Yadav

Stow

Harris

et al. 2018

Journal of Insect Science

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Invertebrate pests often show high morphological variation and wide environmental tolerances. Knowledge of how phenotypic variation is associated with environmental heterogeneity can elucidate the processes underpinning these patterns. Here we examine morphological variation and relative abundance along environmental gradients in a widespread agricultural pest, native to Australia, the wingless grasshopper Phaulacridium vittatum (Sjöstedt). We test for correlations between body size, wing presence, and stripe polymorphism with environmental variables. Using multiple regression and mixed-effects modeling, body size and stripe polymorphism were positively associated with solar radiation, and wing presence was positively associated with foliage projective cover (FPC). There were no associations between body size or morphological traits with relative abundance. However, relative abundance was positively associated with latitude, soil moisture, and wind speed, but was negatively associated with FPC. Therefore, sites with low relative abundance and high forest cover were more likely to contain winged individuals. Overall, our results suggest that environmental and climatic conditions strongly influence the relative abundance and the distribution of morphotypes in P. vittatum, which is likely to affect dispersal and fitness in different landscapes. This knowledge is useful for informing how environmental change might influence the future spread and impact of this agricultural pest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological Variation Tracks Environmental Gradients in an Agricultural Pest,Phaulacridium vittatum(Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Yadav

Stow

Harris

et al. 2018

Journal of Insect Science

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“…Temperature was predicted to be a major factor influencing genetic connectivity due to its important role in dispersal (Whitman, ), the population dynamics of grasshoppers (Chapman, ) and the distribution of herbivorous ectotherms (Bale et al, ; Pepper & Hastings, ). The preferred temperature range of P. vittatum is 27.5–30°C, and it avoids temperatures below 15°C (Harris, McQuillan, & Hughes, ). Thus, we hypothesized warmer areas would provide less resistance to dispersal for P. vittatum .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Morphological variation in P. vittatum has been described in four distinct traits: wing presence/absence, dorsal stripe polymorphism, colour polymorphism and body size (Harris, McQuillan, & Hughes, ; Yadav, Stow, Harris, & Dudaniec, ). Previous studies on P. vittatum have shown significant associations between wing presence, stripe polymorphism and body size with local habitat (i.e., foliage cover), climatic conditions (i.e., solar radiation, precipitation) and latitude (Clark, ; Dearn, ; Harris et al, ; Harris, McQuillan, & Hughes, , ; Yadav et al, ). Furthermore, melanism determined by the presence or absence of dorsal stripes provides a thermoregulatory advantage such that darker individuals with no stripes maintain higher body temperatures (Harris, McQuillan, & Hughes, , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Detection of environmental and morphological adaptation despite high landscape genetic connectivity in a pest grasshopper (Phaulacridium vittatum)

2019

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Widespread species that exhibit both high gene flow and the capacity to occupy heterogeneous environments make excellent models for examining local selection processes along environmental gradients. Here we evaluate the influence of temperature and landscape variables on genetic connectivity and signatures of local adaptation in Phaulacridium vittatum, a widespread agricultural pest grasshopper, endemic to Australia. With sampling across a 900‐km latitudinal gradient, we genotyped 185 P. vittatum from 19 sites at 11,408 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using ddRAD sequencing. Despite high gene flow across sites (pairwise FST = 0.0003–0.08), landscape genetic resistance modelling identified a positive nonlinear effect of mean annual temperature on genetic connectivity. Urban areas and water bodies had a greater influence on genetic distance among sites than pasture, agricultural areas and forest. Together, FST outlier tests and environmental association analysis (EAA) detected 242 unique SNPs under putative selection, with the highest numbers associated with latitude, mean annual temperature and body size. A combination of landscape genetic connectivity analysis together with EAA identified mean annual temperature as a key driver of both neutral gene flow and environmental selection processes. Gene annotation of putatively adaptive SNPs matched with gene functions for olfaction, metabolic detoxification and ultraviolet light shielding. Our results imply that this widespread agricultural pest has the potential to spread and adapt under shifting temperature regimes and land cover change.

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“…Ectothermic insects, such as grasshoppers, rely on external heat sources to achieve sufficiently high body temperature for their daily activities, since metabolic heat production is too low to maintain body temperatures independent of ambient temperatures (Chappell & Whitman, 1990;Heinrich, 1993;Uvarov, 1977). The efficiency of thermoregulation in grasshoppers and other ectotherms depends on size, morphology, and reflectance properties of the body and can be modified by microhabitat choice and behavior (Anderson, Tracy, & Abramsky, 1979;Harris, McQuillan, & Hughes, 2015;O'Neill & Rolston, 2007;Parker, 1982;Whitman, 1987). Thermoregulation is an integral part to survival and fitness of ectotherms that influences, for example, the rate of development (Begon, 1983;Coxwell & Bock, 1995), activity patterns (Civantos, Ahnesjö, Forsman, Martin, & Lopez, 2004;Köhler, Samietz, & Wagner, 2001;Whitman, 1987), metabolism (Chappell, 1983), defense against pathogens (Carruthers, Larkin, Firstencel, & Feng, 1992;Elliot, Blanford, & Thomas, 2002;Springate & Thomas, 2005), and rate of reproduction (Samietz & Köhler, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the evidence refers to various Orthopterans (e.g., Melanoplus sp., Fielding & DeFoliart, 2007;Parsons & Joern, 2014;Pepper & Hastings, 1952;Tetrix sp. Forsman, 1997;Forsman, 2011;Forsman, Ringblom, Civantos, & Ahnesjö, 2002; Phaulacridium sp., Harris, McQuillan, & Hughes, 2012;Harris et al, 2015). These species, like most Orthopterans, are quite variable in their base color and color patterns and include light-and dark-colored variants that can sometimes be classified into distinct color morphs (Dearn, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green‐brown polymorphism in alpine grasshoppers affects body temperature

Köhler

Schielzeth

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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1. Ectothermic animals depend on external heat sources for pursuing their daily activities. However, reaching sufficiently high temperature can be limiting at high altitudes, where nights are cold and seasons short. We focus on the role of a green-brown color polymorphism in grasshoppers from alpine habitats. The green-brown polymorphism is phylogenetically and spatially widespread among Orthopterans and the eco-evolutionary processes that contribute to its maintenance have not yet been identified.2. We here test whether green and brown individuals heat up to different temperatures under field conditions. If they do, this would suggest that thermoregulatory capacity might contribute to the maintenance of the green-brown polymorphism.3. We recorded thorax temperatures of individuals sampled and measured under field conditions. Overall, thorax temperatures ranged 1.7-42.1°C. Heat up during morning hours was particularly rapid, and temperatures stabilized between 31 and 36°C during the warm parts of the day. Female body temperatures were significantly higher than body temperatures of males by an average of 2.4°C. We also found that brown morphs were warmer by 1.5°C on average, a pattern that was particularly supported in the polymorphic club-legged grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus and the meadow grasshopper Pseudochorthippus parallelus. 4. The difference in body temperature between morphs might lead to fitness differences that can contribute to the maintenance of the color polymorphism in combination with other components, such as crypsis, that functionally trade-off with the ability to heat up. The data may be of more general relevance to the maintenance of a high prevalence polymorphism in Orthopteran insects. K E Y W O R D SAcrididae, body temperature, color polymorphism, color-mediated thermoregulation, Gomphocerinae, Orthoptera, thermal melanism

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The effectiveness of common thermo-regulatory behaviours in a cool temperate grasshopper

Cited by 15 publications

References 40 publications

Morphological Variation Tracks Environmental Gradients in an Agricultural Pest,Phaulacridium vittatum(Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Morphological Variation Tracks Environmental Gradients in an Agricultural Pest,Phaulacridium vittatum(Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Detection of environmental and morphological adaptation despite high landscape genetic connectivity in a pest grasshopper (Phaulacridium vittatum)

Green‐brown polymorphism in alpine grasshoppers affects body temperature

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