Complex responses of insect phenology to climate change

• Published in: Current opinion in insect science Vol. 17; pp. 49 - 54
• Main Author: Forrest, Jessica RK
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01.10.2016
• Subjects: food plants; global warming; insects; interspecific variation; life history; natural enemies; phenology; temperature
• ISSN: 2214-5745; 2214-5745; 2214-5753
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2016.07.002

[Display omitted] •Climate change can alter insect phenology in complex and counterintuitive ways.•Advances in springtime phenology with warming are widespread but not universal.•Voltinism can increase with warming, but diapause schedules may interfere.•Interactions with other species can be altered by independent shifts in phenology.•Forecasting changes in phenology requires understanding of insect life histories. Insect phenologies are changing in response to climate warming. Shifts toward earlier seasonal activity are widespread; however, responses of insect phenology to warming are often more complex. Many species have prolonged their activity periods; others have shown delays. Furthermore, because of interspecific differences in temperature sensitivity, warming can increase or decrease synchronization between insects and their food plants and natural enemies. Here, I review recent findings in three areas—shifts in phenology, changes in voltinism, and altered species interactions—and highlight counterintuitive responses to warming caused by the particularities of insect life cycles. Throughout, I emphasize how an appreciation of the evolutionary processes shaping insect life histories is necessary to forecast changes in insect phenology and their demographic consequences.