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Insect body size changes under future warming projections: a case study of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera)

Insect body size changes under future warming projections: a case study of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera)
Insect body size changes under future warming projections: a case study of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera)
Chironomids are a useful group for investigating body size responses to warming due to their high local abundance and sensitivity to environmental change. We collected specimens of six species of chironomids every 2 weeks over a 2-year period (2017–2018) from mesocosm experiments using five ponds at ambient temperature and five ponds at 4°C higher than ambient temperature. We investigated (1) wing length responses to temperature within species and between sexes using a regression analysis, (2) interspecific body size responses to test whether the body size of species influences sensitivity to warming, and (3) the correlation between emergence date and wing length. We found a significantly shorter wing length with increasing temperature in both sexes of Procladius crassinervis and Tanytarsus nemorosus, in males of Polypedilum sordens, but no significant relationship in the other three species studied. The average body size of a species affects the magnitude of the temperature-size responses in both sexes, with larger species shrinking disproportionately more with increasing temperature. There was a significant decline in wing length with emergence date across most species studied (excluding Polypedilum nubeculosum and P. sordens), indicating that individuals emerging later in the season tend to be smaller.
Body size response, Climate change, Mesocosm, Temperature-size rule (TSR), Warming temperature
0018-8158
2785-2796
Wonglersak, Rungtip
f24396b9-ad21-420b-ab8d-6c69403d83bc
Fenberg, Phillip
c73918cd-98cc-41e6-a18c-bf0de4f1ace8
Langdon, Peter
95b97671-f9fe-4884-aca6-9aa3cd1a6d7f
Brooks, Steve
8bf4550a-ddf9-4f7c-bfb3-0b3859a89879
Price, Ben
e4ece802-a70d-4110-84e8-de976af8804a
Wonglersak, Rungtip
f24396b9-ad21-420b-ab8d-6c69403d83bc
Fenberg, Phillip
c73918cd-98cc-41e6-a18c-bf0de4f1ace8
Langdon, Peter
95b97671-f9fe-4884-aca6-9aa3cd1a6d7f
Brooks, Steve
8bf4550a-ddf9-4f7c-bfb3-0b3859a89879
Price, Ben
e4ece802-a70d-4110-84e8-de976af8804a

Wonglersak, Rungtip, Fenberg, Phillip, Langdon, Peter, Brooks, Steve and Price, Ben (2021) Insect body size changes under future warming projections: a case study of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera). Hydrobiologia, 848 (11), 2785-2796. (doi:10.1007/s10750-021-04597-8).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Chironomids are a useful group for investigating body size responses to warming due to their high local abundance and sensitivity to environmental change. We collected specimens of six species of chironomids every 2 weeks over a 2-year period (2017–2018) from mesocosm experiments using five ponds at ambient temperature and five ponds at 4°C higher than ambient temperature. We investigated (1) wing length responses to temperature within species and between sexes using a regression analysis, (2) interspecific body size responses to test whether the body size of species influences sensitivity to warming, and (3) the correlation between emergence date and wing length. We found a significantly shorter wing length with increasing temperature in both sexes of Procladius crassinervis and Tanytarsus nemorosus, in males of Polypedilum sordens, but no significant relationship in the other three species studied. The average body size of a species affects the magnitude of the temperature-size responses in both sexes, with larger species shrinking disproportionately more with increasing temperature. There was a significant decline in wing length with emergence date across most species studied (excluding Polypedilum nubeculosum and P. sordens), indicating that individuals emerging later in the season tend to be smaller.

Text
Wonglersak et al Hydrobiologia 2021 - Version of Record
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 4 May 2021
Published date: June 2021
Additional Information: Funding Information: The authors thank to John Davy-Bowker (Freshwater Biological Association) for his help and support with the mesocosms. This project is funded by the Royal Thai Government. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords: Body size response, Climate change, Mesocosm, Temperature-size rule (TSR), Warming temperature

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 449956
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/449956
ISSN: 0018-8158
PURE UUID: d9281418-7c9e-43dd-9641-094f5997066f
ORCID for Rungtip Wonglersak: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0583-8334
ORCID for Phillip Fenberg: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4474-176X
ORCID for Peter Langdon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2724-2643

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Date deposited: 29 Jun 2021 16:53
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:34

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Contributors

Author: Rungtip Wonglersak ORCID iD
Author: Phillip Fenberg ORCID iD
Author: Peter Langdon ORCID iD
Author: Steve Brooks
Author: Ben Price

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