Locally-adapted reproductive photoperiodism determines population vulnerability to climate change in burying beetles.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how phenotypic traits vary among populations inhabiting different environments is critical for predicting a species' vulnerability to climate change. Yet, little is known about the key functional traits that determine the distribution of populations and the main mechanisms-phenotypic plasticity vs. local adaptation-underlying intraspecific functional trait variation. Using the Asian burying beetle Nicrophorus nepalensis, we demonstrate that mountain ranges differing in elevation and latitude offer unique thermal environments in which two functional traits-thermal tolerance and reproductive photoperiodism-interact to shape breeding phenology. We show that populations on different mountain ranges maintain similar thermal tolerances, but differ in reproductive photoperiodism. Th

SUBMITTER: Tsai HY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7069978 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature