Contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels, an experiment with a herbivore-parasitoid model system.

Under predicted global climate change, species will be gradually exposed to warmer temperatures, and to a more variable climate including more intense and more frequent heatwaves. Increased climatic variability is expected to have different effects on species and ecosystems than gradual warming. A k...

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Main Authors: Stijn J J Schreven, Enric Frago, Annemiek Stens, Peter W de Jong, Joop J A van Loon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5409155?pdf=render
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author Stijn J J Schreven
Enric Frago
Annemiek Stens
Peter W de Jong
Joop J A van Loon
author_facet Stijn J J Schreven
Enric Frago
Annemiek Stens
Peter W de Jong
Joop J A van Loon
author_sort Stijn J J Schreven
collection DOAJ
description Under predicted global climate change, species will be gradually exposed to warmer temperatures, and to a more variable climate including more intense and more frequent heatwaves. Increased climatic variability is expected to have different effects on species and ecosystems than gradual warming. A key challenge to predict the impact of climate change is to understand how temperature changes will affect species interactions. Herbivorous insects and their natural enemies belong to some of the largest groups of terrestrial animals, and thus they have a great impact on the functioning of ecosystems and on the services these ecosystems provide. Here we studied the life history traits of the plant-feeding insect Plutella xylostella and its specialist endoparasitoid Diadegma semiclausum, when exposed to a daily heat pulse of 5 or 10°C temperature increase during their entire immature phase. Growth and developmental responses differed with the amplitude of the heat pulse and they were different between host and parasitoid, indicating different thermal sensitivity of the two trophic levels. With a +5°C heat pulse, the adult parasitoids were larger which may result in a higher fitness, whereas a +10°C heat pulse retarded parasitoid development. These results show that the parasitoid is more sensitive than its host to brief intervals of temperature change, and this results in either positive or negative effects on life history traits, depending on the amplitude of the heat pulse. These findings suggest that more extreme fluctuations may disrupt host-parasitoid synchrony, whereas moderate fluctuations may improve parasitoid fitness.
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spelling doaj.art-e4665d4b3a2846a482709e85cecacea22022-12-21T20:02:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01124e017670410.1371/journal.pone.0176704Contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels, an experiment with a herbivore-parasitoid model system.Stijn J J SchrevenEnric FragoAnnemiek StensPeter W de JongJoop J A van LoonUnder predicted global climate change, species will be gradually exposed to warmer temperatures, and to a more variable climate including more intense and more frequent heatwaves. Increased climatic variability is expected to have different effects on species and ecosystems than gradual warming. A key challenge to predict the impact of climate change is to understand how temperature changes will affect species interactions. Herbivorous insects and their natural enemies belong to some of the largest groups of terrestrial animals, and thus they have a great impact on the functioning of ecosystems and on the services these ecosystems provide. Here we studied the life history traits of the plant-feeding insect Plutella xylostella and its specialist endoparasitoid Diadegma semiclausum, when exposed to a daily heat pulse of 5 or 10°C temperature increase during their entire immature phase. Growth and developmental responses differed with the amplitude of the heat pulse and they were different between host and parasitoid, indicating different thermal sensitivity of the two trophic levels. With a +5°C heat pulse, the adult parasitoids were larger which may result in a higher fitness, whereas a +10°C heat pulse retarded parasitoid development. These results show that the parasitoid is more sensitive than its host to brief intervals of temperature change, and this results in either positive or negative effects on life history traits, depending on the amplitude of the heat pulse. These findings suggest that more extreme fluctuations may disrupt host-parasitoid synchrony, whereas moderate fluctuations may improve parasitoid fitness.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5409155?pdf=render
spellingShingle Stijn J J Schreven
Enric Frago
Annemiek Stens
Peter W de Jong
Joop J A van Loon
Contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels, an experiment with a herbivore-parasitoid model system.
PLoS ONE
title Contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels, an experiment with a herbivore-parasitoid model system.
title_full Contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels, an experiment with a herbivore-parasitoid model system.
title_fullStr Contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels, an experiment with a herbivore-parasitoid model system.
title_full_unstemmed Contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels, an experiment with a herbivore-parasitoid model system.
title_short Contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels, an experiment with a herbivore-parasitoid model system.
title_sort contrasting effects of heat pulses on different trophic levels an experiment with a herbivore parasitoid model system
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5409155?pdf=render
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