spanish butterflies They regulate their body temperature better when sunbathing than their British ‘cousins’, but are more exposed to rising heat as a result of climate change, putting them at increased risk of extinction.
This is the conclusion reached by an international team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Cambridge (UK) and the Barcelona Institute for Evolutionary Biology (joint center of the Supreme Council for Scientific Research and Pompeu Fabra University). Various populations of these insects in the United Kingdom and Catalonia.
The results were published in the journal Journal of Animal Ecologyshow me how As temperatures increase, these animals adopt different behaviors to avoid the heat: Spaniards tend to turn their wings towards the sun to warm themselves in cooler temperatures, while British rely more on finding warm microclimates.
But the rise in global temperatures as a result of climate change may initially benefit Britain more. The Spanish population may not survive if it cannot adapt quickly enough.
habitat loss
in the united kingdom Habitat loss is also a major threat to these insects.Therefore, the researchers emphasized that some initiatives, such as “May Without Mowing”, which allows wildflowers to grow along roadsides and plants trees, could be very useful to counter this destruction of habitats.
Like all insects, butterflies are cold-blooded and use their environment to regulate their internal temperature; Therefore, understanding how they are regulated is important for predicting which species are most at risk from the effects of climate change.
The first study, focusing on the United Kingdom, showed that butterflies were “pretty good at regulating body temperature in this cold climate, but we wanted to see if butterflies in a warmer climate like Spain were doing anything different,” he said. Lead author Eric Toro-Delgado of IBE.
optimum temperature
“In Spain butterflies spend much more time in their optimum temperature“As the weather is warmer, the risk of overheating is greater,” said Andrew Bladon, from the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the study.
By measuring the body temperature and other parameters such as air temperature of approximately 800 “Spanish” butterflies, scientists confirmed that: They regulate heat better than the Britishand the populations of both countries tend to avoid seeking heat when the air temperature reaches 22 degrees.
“In the UK, most of our nature reserves are like islands with very little diversity in between,” Bladon explained, adding: “If we can provide field edges, biodiverse roadsides, more wildflowers and taller grass, the butterflies will be able to move. ” “We help them navigate the terrain more easily, finding their preferred temperatures so they can thrive.”
Big risk in Spain
However, although butterfly populations in Spain appear to be able to regulate themselves more successfully today, due to rising global temperatures Given that the weather is already so hot, climate change puts them at greater riskIn the United Kingdom, this increase in global temperatures is causing the climate to become increasingly similar to Spain.
“Due to rising global temperatures England’s climate is a bit more like Spain’s“Climate change may benefit British butterflies in the short term,” Bladon said. “But what is surprising is that butterflies in both countries show signs of avoiding the heat. Catalan butterflies are at greater risk because they are already close to their thermal optimum.”
Researchers say butterflies are at risk from rising temperatures as well as climate impacts such as droughts or heat waves. These extreme weather events not only push butterflies beyond their thermal limits, they also They can kill the plants their caterpillars are attached to.
“Climate change is a double attack” can kill both adult butterflies and their caterpillars“said Toro-Delgado. “Climate change and biodiversity loss go hand in hand, and we need to urgently address both if we want to protect important species like butterflies.”
Reference work: DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14039
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