Tolerance landscapes in thermal ecology

• Published in: Functional ecology Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 799 - 809
• Main Authors: Rezende, Enrico L, Castañeda, Luis E, Santos, Mauro, Fox, Charles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Scientific Publications 01.08.2014; John Wiley & Sons Ltd; Wiley-Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; climate change; Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change; cold tolerance; critical thermal limits; Drosophila; Earth, ocean, space; Ecological genetics; ecology; environmental impact; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Heat tolerance; Human ecology; Insect ecology; insects; Landscape ecology; Landscapes; Meteorology; Mortality rates; PERSPECTIVES; probability; Temperature; Temperature control; thermal adaptation; Thermal stress; heat tolerance; Landscape; Cold resistance; Tolerance; Environmental factor; thermal adaptation; cold tolerance; Landscape ecology; Dynamical climatology; Climate change; Heat; critical thermal limits; Adaptation
• ISSN: 0269-8463; 1365-2435
• DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12268

How thermal tolerance estimated in the laboratory can be extrapolated to natural settings remains a contentious subject. Here, we argue that the general premise that a single temperature can accurately describe upper or lower tolerance limits is incorrect. Survival probability is determined by both the intensity and the duration of a thermal stress, and the association between these variables can be adequately conveyed by a thermal tolerance landscape. Employing this framework, we demonstrate that the temperature range that an organism can tolerate is expected to narrow down with the duration of the thermal challenge. Analyses suggest that a trade‐off exists between tolerances to acute and chronic exposition to thermal stress, and that changes in temperature means or extremes may result in drastically different selective pressures and subsequent evolutionary responses. After controlling for the duration of the thermal challenge, we also uncover latitudinal effects on upper lethal temperatures in insects that remained unnoticed in previous broad‐scale comparative analyses. Ultimately, critical thermal limits have been adopted in the ecological literature for logistic reasons and are inadequate descriptors of thermal tolerance on conceptual grounds. We consider that tolerance landscapes provide a more suitable framework to study temperature tolerance and its potential impact in ecological settings.