Similarities in butterfly emergence dates among populations suggest local adaptation to climate.

ABSTRACT: Phenology shifts are the most widely cited examples of the biological impact of climate change, yet there are few assessments of potential effects on the fitness of individual organisms or the persistence of populations. Despite extensive evidence of climate-driven advances in phenological events over recent decades, comparable patterns across species' geographic ranges have seldom been described. Even fewer studies have quantified concurrent spatial gradients and temporal trends between phenology and climate. Here we analyse a large data set (~129 000 phenology measures) over 37 years across the UK to provide the first phylogenetic comparative analysis of the relative roles of plasticity and local adaptation in generating spatial and temporal patterns in butterfly mean flight dates. Altho

SUBMITTER: Roy DB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4744750 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature