Elevational clines in the temperature dependence of insect performance and implications for ecological responses to climate change.

ABSTRACT: To what extent is insect hopping and feeding performance, which constrains the ability to obtain and assimilate resources, thermally adapted along an elevation gradient? Does temperature dependence vary between populations and species and can differences account for individualistic responses to past climate change? We investigate these questions for three species of grasshoppers along a Rocky Mountain elevation gradient. All species and populations exhibit warm adaptation for consumption and digestion, with only modest inter- and intra-specific differences. Species differ substantially in the temperature of peak hopping performance. Low-elevation populations of the warm-adapted species exhibit the highest performance at high temperatures and the lowest performance at low temperatures. Deve

SUBMITTER: Buckley LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4806720 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature