Journal article
Extreme Insolation: Climatic Variation Shapes the Evolution of Thermal Tolerance at Multiple Scales
The American naturalist, v 192(3), pp 347-359
01 Sep 2018
PMID: 30125235
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The climatic variability hypothesis (CVH) is a cornerstone of thermal ecology, predicting the evolution of wider organismal thermal tolerance ranges in more thermally variable environments. Thermal tolerance ranges depend on both upper and lower tolerance limits (critical thermal maxima [CTmax?] and critical thermal minima [CTmin?]), which may show different responses to environmental gradients. To delineate the relative effects of mean and extreme temperatures on thermal tolerances, we conducted a within-latitude comparative test of CVH predictions for army ants (Dorylinae) at multiple scales: across elevations, in seasonal versus aseasonal forests, and in subterranean versus surface microhabitats. Consistent with the CVH, thermally buffered subterranean species had narrower thermal tolerance ranges. Both CTmin? and CTmax? decreased with elevation for subterranean species. In contrast, aboveground species (those exposed to insolation) showed a decrease in CTmin? but no change in CTmax? across elevations. Furthermore, greater seasonal temperature variation in dry forests correlated with increased CTmax? but not CTmin?. These patterns suggest that CTmax? and CTmin? respond to different abiotic selective forces: habitat-specific exposure to extreme insolation corresponds to CTmax? differences but not to CTmin? variation. We predict that increasingly frequent heat spikes associated with climate change will have habitat-specific physiological consequences for ectothermic animals. Models predicting climate change impacts should account for species microhabitat uses and within-latitude differences in temperature seasonality.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- Extreme Insolation: Climatic Variation Shapes the Evolution of Thermal Tolerance at Multiple Scales
- Creators
- Kaitlin M. Baudier - Drexel Univ, Dept Biodivers Earth & Environm Sci, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USACatherine L. D'Amelio - Drexel Univ, Dept Biodivers Earth & Environm Sci, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USARumaan Malhotra - Drexel Univ, Dept Biodivers Earth & Environm Sci, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USAMichael P. O'Connor - Drexel UniversitySean O'Donnell - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- The American naturalist, v 192(3), pp 347-359
- Publisher
- Univ Chicago Press
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- Drexel University Claudio Elia Memorial Fellowship Organization for Tropical Studies Tyson Research Fellowship 1209072 / National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) William L. McLean III Fellowship through the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Drexel start-up funds
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000442316100009
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85048887668
- Other Identifier
- 991019167825304721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology