Urbanization extends flight phenology and leads to local adaptation of seasonal plasticity in Lepidoptera.

ABSTRACT: Urbanization is gaining force globally, which challenges biodiversity, and it has recently also emerged as an agent of evolutionary change. Seasonal phenology and life cycle regulation are essential processes that urbanization is likely to alter through both the urban heat island effect (UHI) and artificial light at night (ALAN). However, how UHI and ALAN affect the evolution of seasonal adaptations has received little attention. Here, we test for the urban evolution of seasonal life-history plasticity, specifically changes in the photoperiodic induction of diapause in two lepidopterans, Pieris napi (Pieridae) and Chiasmia clathrata (Geometridae). We used long-term data from standardized monitoring and citizen science observation schemes to compare yearly phenological flight

SUBMITTER: Merckx T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8501875 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature