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The Effects of Meteorological Conditions on Butterfly Flight

Goff, Jennifer
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin172123120560911

Abstract Details

2024, MS, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences.
Movement is a fundamental process in the life of many organisms, and is necessary for individuals to acquire resources, avoid predation, find mates, and thermoregulate. Movement allows individuals to track suitable temperatures; movement, however, can be impacted by meteorological conditions. Due to climate change, global temperature is predicted to increase by 1.5 °C between 2030 and 2052, resulting in higher mean temperatures and more frequent extreme temperature events. Increasing temperatures may decrease the ability of organisms to move in response to these higher temperatures. Understanding how species will respond to climate change requires understanding how temperature and environmental conditions affect their movement. The first chapter of this work looks at the literature that examines the effect of temperature on the flight of butterflies at their northern- and southernmost ranges, given reported thermal flight limits of each species. Due to their limited life spans, sensitivity to environmental changes in their habitats, and relatively rapid responses to these changes, butterflies are often used as biodiversity indicators to gauge shifts in ecological processes, making them a popular group of ectotherms used to examine the effect of temperature on movement. Current (2010-2019) daily maximum temperatures during flight seasons were significantly greater than those reported in the 1950s at both northern and southern range limits. At the southernmost ranges, the current average number of days that maximum temperatures exceeded the upper thermal limits for butterfly flight were significantly greater than in the 1950s, while there was no statistically significant difference at the northernmost ranges. Increases in ambient temperatures can restrict an organism’s ability to escape extreme local temperatures. While I found very few papers that state the effect of ambient temperature on flight, my analysis shows that incorporating the environmental temperatures at which thermal performance is negatively affected for individuals, particularly at the local and microhabitat levels, is needed to predict how species can respond to climate change and more frequent extreme temperature events. More studies that state the maximum ambient temperatures affecting butterfly flight performance are needed. The second chapter is a case study that examines the interactive and additive effects of meteorological conditions on the flight performance of the alpine butterfly species, Parnassius smintheus, in the front range of the Canadian Rocky Mountains where a fraction of the population disperses between subpopulations to non-contiguous meadows. Alpine ecosystems are among those that are expected to be early indicators of climate warming impacts. I found that light and temperature affected the observed rate of movement, net displacement, and total distance moved of P. smintheus. In general, these responses increased with both, mainly via interactive effects. Males moved farther than females within a census period. Individuals previously identified as dispersers also had a higher rate of movement than non-dispersers under the same environmental conditions. My results show that interactions between temperature and light intensity affect butterfly flight. Thus, to fully understand the effects of climate change on butterfly flight, studies need to incorporate both ambient light and temperature as shown in P. smintheus.
Stephen Matter, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Elizabeth Hobson, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Patrick Guerra, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
51 p.
Biology
Climate change; thermal tolerance; dispersal; Lepidoptera; movement

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Goff, J. (2024). The Effects of Meteorological Conditions on Butterfly Flight [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin172123120560911

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Goff, Jennifer. The Effects of Meteorological Conditions on Butterfly Flight. 2024. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin172123120560911.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Goff, Jennifer. "The Effects of Meteorological Conditions on Butterfly Flight." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin172123120560911

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.