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Review
. 2021 Oct;96(5):2113-2126.
doi: 10.1111/brv.12746. Epub 2021 May 30.

Climate change effects on animal ecology: butterflies and moths as a case study

Geena M Hill  1 , Akito Y Kawahara  2   3 , Jaret C Daniels  2   4 , Craig C Bateman  2 , Brett R Scheffers  5
Affiliations
Review

Climate change effects on animal ecology: butterflies and moths as a case study

Geena M Hill et al. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) are one of the most studied, diverse, and widespread animal groups, making them an ideal model for climate change research. They are a particularly informative model for studying the effects of climate change on species ecology because they are ectotherms that thermoregulate with a suite of physiological, behavioural, and phenotypic traits. While some species have been negatively impacted by climatic disturbances, others have prospered, largely in accordance with their diversity in life-history traits. Here we take advantage of a large repertoire of studies on butterflies and moths to provide a review of the many ways in which climate change is impacting insects, animals, and ecosystems. By studying these climate-based impacts on ecological processes of Lepidoptera, we propose appropriate strategies for species conservation and habitat management broadly across animals.

Keywords: asynchrony; butterfly; insect; morphology; moth; parasitoid; phenology; range shift; trophic mismatch; voltinism.

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Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Examples of predicted and observed responses of Lepidoptera to climate change. Each response within the ecological processes has at least one supporting case study. Case studies include: Dewar & Watt (1992); Williams & Liebhold (1995); Parmesan et al. (1999); McLaughlin et al. (2002); Crozier (2003); Parmesan & Yohe (2003); Visser et al. (2004); Stireman et al. (2005); Wilson et al. (2005); Thomas (2005); Kiritani (2006); Parmesan (2006); Nogués‐Bravo et al. (2007); Hellmann et al. (2008); Menéndez et al. (2008); Schweiger et al. (2008); Dukes et al. (2009); Pelini et al. (2009); Altermatt (2010a ); Singer & Parmesan (2010); Chen et al. (2011); Finkbeiner et al. (2011); Betzholtz et al. (2012); Breed et al. (2013); Bonebrake et al. (2014); Kingsolver & Buckley (2014); Aalberg Haugen & Gotthard (2015); Duque et al. (2015); Filz & Schmitt (2015); Van Dyck et al. (2015); Chuang & Peterson (2016); Kleckova & Klecka (2016); Melero et al. (2016); Molina‐Martínez et al. (2016). Pgi, phosphoglucose isomerase.
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References

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