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Segura-Hernández L, Hebets EA, Montooth KL, DeLong JP. How Hot is too Hot? Metabolic Responses to Temperature Across Life Stages of a Small Ectotherm. Integr Comp Biol 2024; 64:178-188. [PMID: 38955397 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icae093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2024] [Revised: 05/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
To understand how global warming will impact biodiversity, we need to pay attention to those species with higher vulnerability. However, to assess vulnerability, we also need to consider the thermoregulatory mechanisms, body size, and thermal tolerance of species. Studies addressing thermal tolerance on small ectotherms have mostly focused on insects, while other arthropods, such as arachnids remain understudied. Here, we quantified the physiological thermal sensitivity of the pseudoscorpion Dactylochelifer silvestris using a respirometry setup with a ramping temperature increase. Overall, we found that D. silvestris has a much lower metabolic rate than other organisms of similar size. As expected, metabolic rate increased with body size, with adults having larger metabolic rates, but the overall metabolic scaling exponent was low. Both the temperature at which metabolism peaked and the critical thermal maxima were high (>44°C) and comparable to those of other arachnids. The activation energy, which characterizes the rising portion of the thermal sensitivity curve, was 0.66 eV, consistent with predictions for insects and other taxa in general. Heat tolerances and activation energy did not differ across life stages. We conclude that D. silvestris has low metabolic rates and a high thermal tolerance, which would likely influence how all stages and sexes of this species could endure climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
| | - Kristi L Montooth
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
| | - John P DeLong
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
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Nervo B, Laini A, Roggero A, Palestrini C, Rolando A. Spatio-temporal modelling suggests that some dung beetle species (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae) may respond to global warming by boosting dung removal. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 908:168127. [PMID: 37907105 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
In the current framework of changes to the global climate, information on the thermal tolerance of dung beetles is crucial to understand how they might cope with increases in land temperature in terms of survival and ecosystem service provision. In this spatio-temporal modelling study, we investigated the thermal tolerance and effect of temperature changes on dung removal by three dung beetle species (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae) living within the 600-1400 m altitudinal belt in the Italian Alps. We chose large tunneler beetles because of their pivotal role in dung removal and nutrient recycling, important ecosystem services for maintaining the viability and profitability of the Alpine pastoral system. Our study used experimental data on dung removal at different temperatures to predict changes to this ecosystem service in the future considering different climatic scenarios and changes in land use for the specific study area. The results show that the temperature increases incurred between 1981 and 2005 may have boosted rates of spring dung removal across the entire study area (expressed as average dung removal per pair per month), partially compensating for the reduction in grassland extent within pasture-based livestock farming systems. Despite the limitations related to modelling future climate change scenarios and uncertainties deriving from several interacting factors (e.g., the sensitivity of large-bodied species to land-use changes), our results suggest that the predicted increases in temperature over the next 80 years would continue to boost dung removal, revealing a resilience of this service. The increase in dung removal rates, for all three species, is mainly related to the most extreme scenario of carbon emissions and for the months spanning from May to October of the interval 2041-2100. Focusing on large tunnelers and adopting a dynamic approach that considers changes in dung removal over space and time can assist ecosystem service conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Nervo
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy
| | - Alex Laini
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy.
| | - Angela Roggero
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy
| | - Claudia Palestrini
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy; NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo 90133, Italy
| | - Antonio Rolando
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy
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3
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Brown JJ, Pascual M, Wimberly MC, Johnson LR, Murdock CC. Humidity - The overlooked variable in the thermal biology of mosquito-borne disease. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1029-1049. [PMID: 37349261 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
Vector-borne diseases cause significant financial and human loss, with billions of dollars spent on control. Arthropod vectors experience a complex suite of environmental factors that affect fitness, population growth and species interactions across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Temperature and water availability are two of the most important abiotic variables influencing their distributions and abundances. While extensive research on temperature exists, the influence of humidity on vector and pathogen parameters affecting disease dynamics are less understood. Humidity is often underemphasized, and when considered, is often treated as independent of temperature even though desiccation likely contributes to declines in trait performance at warmer temperatures. This Perspectives explores how humidity shapes the thermal performance of mosquito-borne pathogen transmission. We summarize what is known about its effects and propose a conceptual model for how temperature and humidity interact to shape the range of temperatures across which mosquitoes persist and achieve high transmission potential. We discuss how failing to account for these interactions hinders efforts to forecast transmission dynamics and respond to epidemics of mosquito-borne infections. We outline future research areas that will ground the effects of humidity on the thermal biology of pathogen transmission in a theoretical and empirical framework to improve spatial and temporal prediction of vector-borne pathogen transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel J Brown
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Mercedes Pascual
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Michael C Wimberly
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Leah R Johnson
- Department of Statistics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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Nervo B, Roggero A, Isaia M, Chamberlain D, Rolando A, Palestrini C. Integrating thermal tolerance, water balance and morphology: An experimental study on dung beetles. J Therm Biol 2021; 101:103093. [PMID: 34879911 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.103093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The impacts of extreme and rising mean temperatures due to climate change can pose significant physiological challenges for insects. An integrated approach that focuses on mechanisms of body temperature regulation, water balance and morphology may help to unravel the functional traits underpinning thermoregulation strategies and the most relevant trade-offs between temperature and water balance regulation. Here, we focused on four species of tunneler dung beetles as important providers of ecosystem services. In this experimental research, we first quantified two traits related to desiccation resistance and tolerance via experimental tests, and subsequently defined two levels of resistance and tolerance (i.e. low and high) according to significant differences among species. Second, we identified morphological traits correlated with water balance strategies, and we found that desiccation resistance and tolerance increased with small relative size of spiracles and wings. High levels of desiccation tolerance were also correlated with small body mass. Third, by integrating thermal tolerance with functional traits based on desiccation resistance and desiccation tolerance, we found that the species with the highest survival rates under elevated temperatures (Euoniticellus fulvus) was characterized by low desiccation resistance and high desiccation tolerance. Our results suggest shared physiological and morphological responses to temperature and desiccation, with potential conflicts between the need to regulate heat and water balance. They also highlighted the sensitivity of a large species such as Geotrupes stercorarius to warm and arid conditions with potential implications for its geographic distribution and the provisioning of ecosystem services under a climate change scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Nervo
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, Italy.
| | - Angela Roggero
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, Italy
| | - Marco Isaia
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, Italy
| | - Dan Chamberlain
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, Italy
| | - Antonio Rolando
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, Italy
| | - Claudia Palestrini
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Torino, Italy
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Chen H, Solangi GS, Zhao C, Yang L, Guo J, Wan F, Zhou Z. Physiological Metabolic Responses of Ophraella communa to High Temperature Stress. Front Physiol 2019; 10:1053. [PMID: 31507435 PMCID: PMC6718515 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Considering the predicted rising temperatures under current climate change and heat wave scenarios, organisms are expected to suffer more intense and frequent thermal stress. Induced heat is accumulated by organisms and can cause a variety of physiological stress responses. Ophraella communa is an effective biological control agent of common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, but the responses of this biocontrol agent to heat stress have not been fully elucidated and, therefore, its potential responses to climate change are uncertain. We investigated the physiological metabolism of subsequent O. communa adults after: (1) different developmental stages (egg, larval, pupal, and adult) were exposed to thermal stress for 3 h each day for 3, 5, 5, and 5 days, respectively (by stage); and (2) individuals were exposed to thermal stress throughout the egg-to-adult period for 3 h each day. The high temperatures of 40, 42, and 44°C were used to induce thermal stress. A control group was reared at 28 ± 2°C. The results showed that short- or long-term exposure to daily phasic high temperatures significantly decreased water and lipid contents and significantly increased glycogen and glycerol contents in all adults (i.e., after exposure of different stages or throughout the egg-to-adult period). However, the total sugar content significantly increased in adults after the eggs and larvae were exposed to brief short-term thermal stress. Compared to the control, the total sugar content was also significantly higher in the adults and pupae exposed to 44°C. Total sugar content in females increased significantly in response to long-term phasic thermal stress at 40°C. However, sugar content of males exposed to 44°C decreased significantly. After long-term phasic thermal stress, water and glycogen contents in males were significantly higher than in females; however, females had higher total sugar and lipid contents. Therefore, our study provides a basic understanding of the metabolic responses of O. communa to thermal stress and offers insights into its potential as a natural biocontrol agent against A. artemisiifolia during the summer season and under predicted climate change scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongsong Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.,Guangxi Key Laboratory for Biology of Crop Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, China
| | - Ghulam Sarwar Solangi
- Department of Entomology, Sindh Agriculture University Sub Campus, Umerkot, Pakistan
| | - Chenchen Zhao
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan, China
| | - Lang Yang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Biology of Crop Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, China
| | - Jianying Guo
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fanghao Wan
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongshi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
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Hoffmann AA, Sgrò CM. Comparative studies of critical physiological limits and vulnerability to environmental extremes in small ectotherms: How much environmental control is needed? Integr Zool 2019; 13:355-371. [PMID: 29168624 PMCID: PMC6099205 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Researchers and practitioners are increasingly using comparative assessments of critical thermal and physiological limits to assess the relative vulnerability of ectothermic species to extreme thermal and aridity conditions occurring under climate change. In most assessments of vulnerability, critical limits are compared across taxa exposed to different environmental and developmental conditions. However, many aspects of vulnerability should ideally be compared when species are exposed to the same environmental conditions, allowing a partitioning of sources of variation such as used in quantitative genetics. This is particularly important when assessing the importance of different types of plasticity to critical limits, using phylogenetic analyses to test for evolutionary constraints, isolating genetic variants that contribute to limits, characterizing evolutionary interactions among traits limiting adaptive responses, and when assessing the role of cross generation effects. However, vulnerability assessments based on critical thermal/physiological limits also need to take place within a context that is relevant to field conditions, which is not easily provided under controlled environmental conditions where behavior, microhabitat, stress exposure rates and other factors will differ from field conditions. There are ways of reconciling these requirements, such as by taking organisms from controlled environments and then testing their performance under field conditions (or vice versa). While comparisons under controlled environments are challenging for many taxa, assessments of critical thermal limits and vulnerability will always be incomplete unless environmental effects within and across generations are considered, and where the ecological relevance of assays measuring critical limits can be established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ary A Hoffmann
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Carla M Sgrò
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
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Mammola S, Piano E, Malard F, Vernon P, Isaia M. Extending Janzen’s hypothesis to temperate regions: A test using subterranean ecosystems. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Mammola
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology University of Turin Turin Italy
- LIBRe – Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Finnish Museum of Natural History University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Elena Piano
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology University of Turin Turin Italy
| | - Florian Malard
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5023, ENTPE Villeurbanne France
| | - Philippe Vernon
- Univ Rennes, Université Rennes 1, CNRS UMR 6553, ECOBIO Station Biologique de Paimpont Paimpont France
| | - Marco Isaia
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology University of Turin Turin Italy
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8
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Michelutti KB, Soares ERP, Sguarizi-Antonio D, Piva RC, Súarez YR, Cardoso CAL, Antonialli-Junior WF. Influence of temperature on survival and cuticular chemical profile of social wasps. J Therm Biol 2017; 71:221-231. [PMID: 29301694 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2017] [Revised: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The cuticle of social insects is a barrier against desiccation and a channel for chemical communication, two characteristics fundamental to the success of this group. The compounds present in the cuticle interact dynamically in order to achieve a balance between these two functions. Thus, viscosity correlates with waterproofing, whereas fluidity correlates with effective communication. Temperature variation can cause the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) layer of the cuticle to change in order to maintain body homeostasis. Thus, in this study, we tested the hypothesis that wasps with different body sizes and nest types will differ in their tolerance to temperature variation and ability to respond by changing cuticular chemical composition. To test this hypothesis, workers of three species of social wasps with different body sizes and nests, both with or without envelope, were subjected to different temperatures under controlled conditions. Cuticular compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results show that tolerance to temperature variation is not directly related to either wasp size or nesting type. An increase in the percentage of linear alkanes and a decrease in the percentage of branched alkanes were correlated with increased temperature. Thus, instead of either body size or nest type, tolerance to temperature variation seems to be mediated by the changing chemical composition of the cuticle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamylla Balbuena Michelutti
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental (LABECO), Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
| | - Eva Ramona Pereira Soares
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental (LABECO), Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
| | - Denise Sguarizi-Antonio
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental (LABECO), Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
| | - Raul Cremonezi Piva
- Centro de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade (CPBio), Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
| | - Yzel Rondon Súarez
- Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Centro Integrado de Análise e Monitoramento Ambiental (CInAM), Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
| | - Claudia Andrea Lima Cardoso
- Centro de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade (CPBio), Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
| | - William Fernando Antonialli-Junior
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental (LABECO), Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
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Rubin S, Young MHY, Wright JC, Whitaker DL, Ahn AN. Exceptional running and turning performance in a mite. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:676-85. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.128652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The Southern California endemic mite, Paratarsotomus macropalpis, was filmed in the field on a concrete substrate and in the lab to analyze stride frequency, gait, and running speed under different temperature conditions and during turning. At ground temperatures ranging from 45°C to 60°C, mites ran at a mean relative speed of 192.4±2.1 BL s−1 (body lengths per second), exceeding the highest previously documented value for a land animal by 12.5%. Stride frequencies were also exceptionally high (up to 135 Hz), and increased with substrate temperature. Juveniles exhibited higher relative speeds than adults and possess proportionally longer legs, which allow for greater relative stride lengths. Although mites accelerated and decelerated rapidly during straight running (7.2±1.2 ms−2 and −10.1±2.1 ms−2, respectively), the forces involved were comparable to those found in other animals. P. macropalpis employs an alternating tetrapod gait during steady running. Shallow turns were accomplished by a simple asymmetry in stride length. During tight turns, mites pivoted around the tarsus of the inside third leg (L3), which thus behaved like a grappling hook. Pivot turns were characterized by a 42% decrease in turning radius and 40% increase in angular velocity compared to non-pivot turns. The joint angle amplitudes of the inner L2 and L3 were negligible during a pivot turn. While exceptional, running speeds in P. macropalpis approximate values predicted from inter-specific scaling relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Rubin
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | | | | | | | - A. N. Ahn
- Department of Biology, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA
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