Pest insects and their predators may respond differently to landscape and climate change
Landscape complexity significantly alters the local microclimate and the temperature tolerance of aphid pests. Intensively farmed ‘homogenous’ landscapes were found to be warmer, on average, but with greater temperature fluctuations. Aphids originating from simplified landscapes were found to have a reduced tolerance to cold temperatures. The study highlights that future changes to land use could have implications for the temperature tolerance and adaptability of insects. Furthermore, not all insect species respond in a similar way to changes in microhabitat and microclimate. This could disrupt important predator–prey relationships and the ecosystem service they provide. Read more here.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.12460
Landscape complexity significantly alters the local microclimate and the temperature tolerance of aphid pests. Intensively farmed ‘homogenous’ landscapes were found to be warmer, on average, but with greater temperature fluctuations. Aphids originating from simplified landscapes were found to have a reduced tolerance to cold temperatures. The study highlights that future changes to land use could have implications for the temperature tolerance and adaptability of insects. Furthermore, not all insect species respond in a similar way to changes in microhabitat and microclimate. This could disrupt important predator–prey relationships and the ecosystem service they provide. Read more here.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.12460