Continent-wide parallel urban evolution of increased heat tolerance in a common moth.

ABSTRACT: Urbanization and its urban-heat-island effect (UHI) have expanding footprints worldwide. The UHI means that urban habitats experience a higher mean and more frequent extreme high temperatures than rural habitats, impacting the ontogeny and resilience of urban biodiversity. However, many organisms occupy different microhabitats during different life stages and thus may experience the UHI differently across their development. While evolutionary changes in heat tolerance in line with the UHI have been demonstrated, it is unknown whether such evolutionary responses can vary across development. Here, using common-garden-reared Chiasmia clathrata moths from urban and rural populations from three European countries, we tested for urban evolution of heat shock tolerance in two life stages:

SUBMITTER: Merckx T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10810253 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature