Multidimensional plasticity in the Glanville fritillary butterfly: larval performance is temperature, host and family specific

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Variation in environmental conditions during development can lead to changes in life-history traits with long-lasting effects. Here, we study how variation in temperature and host plant (i.e. the consequences of potential maternal oviposition choices) affects a suite of life-history traits in pre-diapause larvae of the Glanville fritillary butterfly. We focus on offspring survival, larval growth rates and relative fat reserves, and pay specific attention to intraspecific variation in the responses (G × E × E). Globally, thermal performance and survival curves varied between diets of two host plants, suggesting that host modifies the temperature impact, or vice versa. Additionally, we show that the relative fat content has a host-dependent, discontinuous response to developmental temperature. This implies that a potential switch in resource allocation, from more investment in growth at lower temperatures to storage at higher temperatures, is dependent on the larval diet. Interestingly, a large proportion of the variance in larval performance is explained by differences among families, or interactions with this variable. Finally, we demonstrate that these family-specific responses to the host plant remain largely consistent across thermal environments. Together, the results of our study underscore the importance of paying attention to intraspecific trait variation in the field of evolutionary ecology.
Original languageEnglish
Article number20202577
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B. Biological Sciences
Volume287
Issue number1941
Number of pages9
ISSN0962-8452
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Dec 2020
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Fields of Science

  • 1181 Ecology, evolutionary biology
  • developmental plasticity
  • G &#215
  • E &#215
  • E
  • intraspecific variation
  • temperature
  • nutrition
  • multidimensional plasticity
  • PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY
  • LIFE-HISTORY
  • IRIDOID GLYCOSIDES
  • CLIMATE-CHANGE
  • PLANT SPECIFICITY
  • MELITAEA-CINXIA
  • GROWTH-RATE
  • EVOLUTIONARY
  • SIZE
  • ADAPTATION

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