Species traits affect phenological responses to climate change in a butterfly community

Konstantina Zografou,Brent J Sewall,George C Adamidis,Mark T Swartz,Erika N Mckinney,Virginia P Tilden

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-82723-1

Konstantina Zografou, Brent J Sewall + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82723-1

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Abstract

Diverse taxa have undergone phenological shifts in response to anthropogenic climate change. While such shifts generally follow predicted patterns, they are not uniform, and interspecific variation may have important ecological consequences. We evaluated relationships among species’ phenological shifts (mean flight date, duration of flight period), ecological traits (larval trophic specialization, larval diet composition, voltinism), and population trends in a butterfly community in Pennsylvania, USA, where the summer growing season has become warmer, wetter, and longer. Data were collected over 7–19 years from 18 species or species groups, including the extremely rare eastern regal fritillary Speyeria idalia idalia. Both the direction and magnitude of phenological change over time was linked to species traits. Polyphagous species advanced and prolonged the duration of their flight period while oligophagous species delayed and shortened theirs. Herb feeders advanced their flight periods while woody feeders delayed theirs. Multivoltine species consistently prolonged flight periods in response to warmer temperatures, while univoltine species were less consistent. Butterflies that shifted to longer flight durations, and those that had polyphagous diets and multivoltine reproductive strategies tended to decline in population. Our results suggest species’ traits shape butterfly phenological responses to climate change, and are linked to important community impacts.

Highlights

Diverse taxa have undergone phenological shifts in response to anthropogenic climate change
The intensity of phenological responses to climate change may be influenced by species-specific ecological traits such as larval diets, number of generations, habitat use, adult thermoregulation behavior, or seasonal occurrence
Seven taxa prolonged the duration of the flight period (Epargyreus clarus, Euptoieta claudia, Limenitis archippus, S. idalia idalia (F), P. interrogationis/comma, Satyrodes eurydice/Enodia anthedon, Speyeria cybele/aphrodite) over time, while Papilio troilus shortened its duration (Table 1, Fig. S1)

Summary

Introduction

Diverse taxa have undergone phenological shifts in response to anthropogenic climate change. Data were collected over 7–19 years from 18 species or species groups, including the extremely rare eastern regal fritillary Speyeria idalia idalia Both the direction and magnitude of phenological change over time was linked to species traits. The intensity of phenological responses to climate change may be influenced by species-specific ecological traits such as larval diets (e.g., more constrained activity window in woody plant feeders8), number of generations (e.g., increased numbers of generations in multivoltine s pecies[8] or the facilitation of another generation in univoltine species20), habitat use (e.g., earlier spring emergence in more open habitats21,22), adult thermoregulation behavior (e.g., high-temperature dwellers are expanding at the expense of low-temperature dwellers6,15), or seasonal occurrence (e.g., spring broods show more pronounced advances in Scientific Reports | (2021) 11:3283. Analysis of phenological responses to climate change in the context of species‐specific ecological traits provides a potentially powerful framework for identifying vulnerable species[25,26,27,28] and making more robust generalizations about species’ phenological responses to climate c hange[29]

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