Warming temperatures affect meadow‐wide nectar resources, with implications for plant–pollinator communities

Climate change, temperature extremes, and impacts on hyperparasitoids

Anthropogenic climate change, including temperature extremes, is having a major impact on insect physiology, phenology, behavior, populations, and communities. Hyperparasitoids (insects whose offspring develop in, or on, the body of a primary parasitoid host) are expected to be especially impacted by such effects due to their typical life history traits (e.g. low fecundity and slow development), small populations (being high on the food chain), and cascading effects mediated via lower trophic levels. We review evidence for direct and indirect temperature and climate-related effects mediated via plants, herbivores, and the primary parasitoid host species on hyperparasitoid populations, focusing on higher temperatures. We discuss how hyperparasitoid responses may feed back to the community and affect biological control programs. We conclude that despite their great importance, very little is known about the potential effects of climate change on hyperparasitoids and make a plea for additional studies exploring such responses.

Shifting the paradigm: The role of introduced plants in the resiliency of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change

Current ecological communities are in a constant state of flux from climate change and from species introductions. Recent discussion has focused on the positive roles introduced species can play in ecological communities and on the importance of conserving resilient ecosystems, but not how these two ideas intersect. There has been insufficient work to define the attributes needed to support ecosystem resilience to climate change in modern communities. Here, I argue that non-invasive, introduced plant species could play an important role in supporting the resilience of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change. Using examples from multiple taxonomic groups and ecosystems, I discuss how introduced plants can contribute to ecosystem resilience via their roles in plant and insect communities, as well as their associated ecosystem functions. I highlight the current and potential contributions of introduced plants and where there are critical knowledge gaps. Determining when and how introduced plants are contributing to the resilience of ecosystems to climate change will contribute to effective conservation strategies.

Future distribution of the epiphytic leafless orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii), its pollinators and phorophytes evaluated using niche modelling and three different climate change projections

The identification of future refugia for endangered species from the effects of global warming is crucial for improving their conservation. Because climate-driven shifts in ranges and local extinctions can result in a spatial mismatch with their symbiotic organisms, however, it is important to incorporate in niche modelling the ecological partners of the species studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of climate change on the distribution of suitable niches for the ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) and its phorophytes and pollinators. Thus, its five species of host trees and three pollen vectors were included in the analysis. Climatic preferences of all the species studied were evaluated. The modelling was based on three different climate change projections and four Shared Socio-economic Pathway trajectories. All the species analysed are characterized by narrow temperature tolerances, which with global warming are likely to result in local extinctions and range shifts. D. lindenii is likely to be subjected to a significant loss of suitable niches, but within a reduced geographical range, both host trees and pollen vectors will be available in the future. Future conservation of this orchid should focus on areas that are likely be suitable for it and its ecological partners.