Phenological mismatch is less important than total nectar availability for checkerspot butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Changes in phenology are a conspicuous fingerprint of climate change, leading to fears that phenological mismatches among interacting species will be a leading cause of population declines and extinction. We used quantile regression to analyze museum collection data and estimate changes in the phenological overlap of Baltimore checkerspot butterflies and 12 common nectar plant species over several decades in two geographic regions. We combined these museum data with field estimates of each species' flower density and nectar sugar production to estimate changes in resource availability caused by shifts in phenological overlap. Phenological overlap (measured as the proportion of plant flowering during the flight period of an average butterfly) decreased through time, primarily because the fl

SUBMITTER: Crone EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11610707 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature