Temperature-body size responses in insects: a case study of British Odonata
Temperature-body size responses in insects: a case study of British Odonata
1. Body size is highly correlated with physiological traits, fitness, and trophic interactions. These traits are subject to change if there are widespread reductions of body size with warming temperatures, which is suggested as one of the ‘universal’ ecological responses to climate change. However, general patterns of body size response to temperature in insects have not yet emerged. 2. To address this knowledge gap, we paired the wing length (as a proxy for body size) of 5331 museum specimens of 14 species of British Odonata with historical temperature data. Three sets of analyses were performed: (i) a regression analysis to test for a relationship between wing length and mean seasonal temperature within species and subsequent comparisons across species and suborders; (ii) an investigation of whether the body size of species has an effect on sensitivity to warming temperature; and (iii) a linear-mixed effects model to investigate factors that potentially affect temperature–size response. 3. The regression analysis indicated that wing length is negatively correlated with mean seasonal temperatures for Zygoptera, whereas Anisoptera showed no significant correlation with temperature. 4. There is a significant decline in wing length of all Zygoptera (but not Anisoptera) with collection date, suggesting that individuals emerging later in the season are smaller. 5. Life-cycle type was not important for predicting wing length–temperature responses, whereas sex, species, and suborder were indicated as important factors affecting the magnitude of temperature–size responses in Odonata. 6. Overall, wing lengths of Zygoptera are more sensitive to temperature and collection date than Anisoptera.
Anisoptera, Zygoptera, body size response, climate change, museum collections, temperature–size rule (TSR)
795-805
Wonglersak, Rungtip
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Fenberg, Phillip
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Langdon, Peter
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Brooks, Steve
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Price, Ben
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1 August 2020
Wonglersak, Rungtip
f24396b9-ad21-420b-ab8d-6c69403d83bc
Fenberg, Phillip
c73918cd-98cc-41e6-a18c-bf0de4f1ace8
Langdon, Peter
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Brooks, Steve
c07e9e81-3ea9-42b5-914f-2fb2bcf704d7
Price, Ben
27a11bcf-793b-4484-bb2b-f1be462da7e3
Wonglersak, Rungtip, Fenberg, Phillip, Langdon, Peter, Brooks, Steve and Price, Ben
(2020)
Temperature-body size responses in insects: a case study of British Odonata.
Ecological Entomology, 45 (4), .
(doi:10.1111/een.12853).
Abstract
1. Body size is highly correlated with physiological traits, fitness, and trophic interactions. These traits are subject to change if there are widespread reductions of body size with warming temperatures, which is suggested as one of the ‘universal’ ecological responses to climate change. However, general patterns of body size response to temperature in insects have not yet emerged. 2. To address this knowledge gap, we paired the wing length (as a proxy for body size) of 5331 museum specimens of 14 species of British Odonata with historical temperature data. Three sets of analyses were performed: (i) a regression analysis to test for a relationship between wing length and mean seasonal temperature within species and subsequent comparisons across species and suborders; (ii) an investigation of whether the body size of species has an effect on sensitivity to warming temperature; and (iii) a linear-mixed effects model to investigate factors that potentially affect temperature–size response. 3. The regression analysis indicated that wing length is negatively correlated with mean seasonal temperatures for Zygoptera, whereas Anisoptera showed no significant correlation with temperature. 4. There is a significant decline in wing length of all Zygoptera (but not Anisoptera) with collection date, suggesting that individuals emerging later in the season are smaller. 5. Life-cycle type was not important for predicting wing length–temperature responses, whereas sex, species, and suborder were indicated as important factors affecting the magnitude of temperature–size responses in Odonata. 6. Overall, wing lengths of Zygoptera are more sensitive to temperature and collection date than Anisoptera.
Text
Wonglersak et al Accepted MS with figs
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 30 January 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 February 2020
Published date: 1 August 2020
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The authors thank to Amoret Spooner (Oxford University Museum of Natural History), Ashleigh Whiffin (National Museums Scotland), and Michael R. Wilson (National Museum of Wales) for providing access to the collections in their care. This project is funded by the Royal Thai Government. RW collected and analysed the data and led the writing of the paper. PBF, PGL, SJB, and BWP helped conceive the ideas for the research and analyses and provided direction for the writing. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Royal Entomological Society
Keywords:
Anisoptera, Zygoptera, body size response, climate change, museum collections, temperature–size rule (TSR)
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Local EPrints ID: 437937
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/437937
PURE UUID: 9d0463fb-6da9-40bb-b817-fc90eca1ef3b
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Date deposited: 24 Feb 2020 17:31
Last modified: 12 Jan 2023 02:44
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Author:
Rungtip Wonglersak
Author:
Steve Brooks
Author:
Ben Price
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