Flying in the Extreme..Or Not
Effects of Climate Change 1.10
As known to many of us, climate change is impacting biodiversity. Extreme changes, such as temperature, can often lead to negative results for some species since many are more sensitive to variations and shifts in the climate.
In a study conducted at the University of East Anglia, researchers wanted to determine the effects of short-term, extreme events on multivoltine and univoltine butterflies (>2 broods/year, one brood/year, respectively), and specifically, the life stage that is most impacted.
What they found was interesting. Let’s start with the univoltine species.
Droughts, for example, impact the adult stage most negatively (24% of species), while on the other wing, droughts are beneficial for the ovum stage (24% of species). Based on the results, these species seem sensitive to extremes of heat and cold. The adult and overwintering stages are the most impacted by extremes.
For the multivoltine species, the researchers found that these species were much more sensitive to extremes in temperatures compared to univoltine butterfly species. Perhaps a reason for this increased sensitivity in multivoltine species has to do with their differing life stage timings.
Why could this be? Why are extremes in temp — especially heat, a concern for butterfly species?
It may be because when temperatures rise drastically, even for a brief period of time, such as with droughts, it acts as a cue for butterflies and larvae to come out of overwintering. However, when temperatures lower back down, many butterflies die due to the frigidity.
How can we help? According to a study, the effects of droughts on butterflies were less impactful when a habitat was less fragmented.
Let’s keep things together and less extreme,
Claudia A.
References:
Long, O. M.; Warren, R.; Price, J.; Brereton, T. M.; Botham, M. S.; Franco, A. M. A. Journal of Animal Ecology 2016.
University of East Anglia. Research into extreme weather effects may explain recent butterfly decline https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161031090032.htm (accessed Nov 1, 2016).
