Habitat effects on local adaptation and plasticity of thermal tolerance across life stages in tropical Bicyclus butterflies - Evolutionary Ecology Climate change impacts on ectotherms will be a consequence of an interplay between species-specific evolutionary effects, population-level local adaptation, and developmental or plastic effects in individuals. While variation in thermal tolerance resulting from species physiological differences and local adaptation are well researched, how variation in plasticity across habitats might impact vulnerability to climate change remains poorly understood. We studied microhabitat (understory vs. open) distributions and the plasticity in thermal tolerance of four Bicyclus butterfly species across forest and ecotone (savanna-forest transition zone) habitats in Cameroon. For each species, we performed common garden experiments at two stable temperature regimes (20 and 30 °C) and quantified larval and adult thermal tolerance. We found clear differences in distributions across species such that two species were more associated with open microhabitats (B. dorothea and B. vulgaris) while two others were more understory associated (B. sanaos and B. sandace), with variation across seasons and habitats (forest vs. ecotone). Three species exhibited higher plasticity in critical thermal maximum (CTmax) in the ecotone relative to the forest indicating the importance of the interaction between habitat and developmental temperatures in influencing thermal tolerance. Microhabitat distributions were also consistent with trends in thermal tolerance; the most understory-associated species had both the lowest average CTmax and lowest plasticity in CTmax in the ecotone. Our findings suggest that microclimate and thermal adaptation shape plastic responses to thermal tolerance, and these factors will likely result in heterogenous responses to climatic change for tropical insects.

New paper out in Evolutionary Ecology by Michel Dongmo - habitat and plasticity of thermal tolerance in tropical Bicyclus butterflies - thrilled to see it out, a lot of interesting results packed into this one

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Officially extinct yesterday, RIP slender-billed curlew

Somewhere over Yunnan, China ✈️ (I think)

Benefits of jumping spiders as predators, on a big screen at HK airport! How surprisingly positive 🕷️👌

New issue!🏝
The unique challenges and rewards of island conservation🦎

This theme highlights the importance of protecting island biodiversity, which is particularly vulnerable to extinction🦇🌋

You can read our new Island Conservation issue (🔓fully Open Access) here:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

El Niño May Be Driving Insect Decline in the Tropics - Eos Stronger and more frequent El Niño events are contributing to a decline in arthropod diversity and population, as well as to a reduction in the ecological services the animals provide.

El Niño events are getting more extreme, and arthropods in tropical forests 🐝 🪲 🕷️ 🪳are feeling it. In a new study, researchers found long-term declines in diversity and ecological services. eos.org/articles/el-...

The Ascension Island scaly cricket Discophallus ascension (Orthoptera: Mogoplistidae). Photo credit: Adam Sharp.

New #OpenAccess work by @adam-sharp.bsky.social in #RESInsectConsDiv

Invasive insect colonisation shapes population distribution of island-#endemic scaly #cricket
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70013

@manusaunders.bsky.social
Photo: Ascension Island scaly cricket (Discophallus ascension); credit: A. Sharp

Invasive insect colonisation shapes the population distribution of an island‐endemic scaly cricket I assessed whether non-native insect colonisation altered the population distribution of one case study island-endemic insect: Discophallus ascension of volcanic Ascension Island in the South Atlant...

New article, open access! 📣🦗

When is habitat specialism not really habitat specialism? One weird island-endemic cricket species seems to be confined to young lava flows by invasive species, not ecological preference.

This analysis informed two new protected areas 💪

doi.org/10.1111/icad...

Stronger El Niños reduce tropical forest arthropod diversity and function Nature - Time-series data from tropical forests tracking weather and declines in arthropod diversity and function show that fluctuations in species were largely dependent on their El Niño...

New article out today in Nature - intensified El Niño events under climate change appear to be chipping away at tropical forest arthropod diversity.

This is already leading to substantial losses in arthropod function in primary forests across the tropics.

rdcu.be/ezAxP

Invasive Big‐Headed Ants and Black Rats Are Dominant Arthropod Predators Across Opposing Habitats of a Degraded Oceanic Island Invasive animals threaten island-native arthropods with predation. We found that introduced ants and rats conducted 77% of experimental arthropod live bait predations on Ascension Island. Predation w....

We leashed arthropods like little dogs on leads! Why? To quantify which invasive predators are attacking arthropods, and where, on an Atlantic island 🏝️🐜🐀

doi.org/10.1111/btp....

The Daintree Rainforest Observatory in Queensland Australia is without a doubt one of the coolest research sites I’ve visited. The team there have been using the full-sized research crane to position our insect traps in the tree canopy! A peculiar/amazing sight in the middle of the rainforest 🌴🌳🏗️🌴🌳

Causes and consequences of insect decline in tropical forests Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 04 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00038-9Insect biodiversity in tropical forests is poorly understood but is probably facing declines, with serious consequences for ecosystem functions and services. This Review describes the major threats to insect biodiversity, which include the effects of a burgeoning human population and of climate change. The authors further highlight the urgent need for greater efforts to measure and monitor insect biodiversity in the tropics and discuss emerging approaches to facilitate such studies.

New online! Causes and consequences of insect decline in tropical forests

Tiny habitats are important for island-endemic arthropod conservation! Especially caves, isolated pools, sea stacks and high-elevation patches of native vegetation. These "micro-refugia" from threats may be feasible targets for first steps in local management. Open access :)

doi.org/10.1017/S003...

Please can you add me!

A little bit of the organised chaos of arthropod life at Chiang Mai Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders

I would sincerely love to stand before the nurses of Chicago and enthusiastically present on desert island nematodes

New open-access research! Nematodes are super cool, and we prove it on an isolated desert island.

We found near perfect turnover in trophic group along a vegetation/elevation gradient. We also warn that root-parasitic nematodes seem to spread with non-native vegetation.

dx.doi.org/10.1007/s105...

A window to the world of global insect declines: Moth biodiversity trends are complex and heterogeneous | PNAS Moths are the most taxonomically and ecologically diverse insect taxon for which there exist considerable time-series abundance data. There is an a...

Some of my favourite caterpillar morphospecies descriptions from the dataset of this excellent #insect declines analysis in PNAS:

backflip barfer

red biting shitter

grampa gothster

Minifuzzywuzzy

bulging turd

Taxonomists take note please.

doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Cordyceps fungus growing out of weevil in Cusuco National Park, Honduras

Here's an #entomology Christmas tree to start December with!

'Tis the season to Ö̴̢̯̲́B̸̰̠̈̌Ȩ̴̞̳̑Y̴̳͐͗ ̴͙̭́T̷̟͖̺͌͠Ḩ̷̩̝͛Ȩ̶̠̉̓͝ ̸̲͇̝͆̓F̴̟̜͋U̷̘̐̃̈́N̸͉̟̈́Ǧ̸̡̖̀U̵̥̾Ś̴̜̳̅͐ 🧟🎄

(A weevil succumbed to Cordyceps "zombie" fungus in Honduras, 2013)

ATBC 2025 in Oaxaca, Mexico - is anybody aiming to attend and present on #climatechange impacts (or lack of) on #insect #ecology or #biodiversity? We at the Uni of Hong Kong (‪@louiseaashton) are gauging interest outside of our usual circle to see if it's worth proposing a symposium. Pls share!

hi everyone! My first post is the excellent news that I've been give tenure! Really excited to continue to work with an excellent team of scientists in the biodiversity and environmental change lab (www.louiseashton.net) and grateful for all the support from my mentors and peers.

Thanks!

Hello! I research species invasions on Ascension in the South Atlantic

A highlight of living in Hong Kong is having these Critically Endangered Yellow-Crested Cockatoos diligently tearing bits off the outside of your apartment, I guess

Followed, thanks!

Doesn’t have one yet :) but the genus is Niambia

A new species of Niambia woodlouse known only from inside turtle nests on Ascension Island.

Greetings from Hong Kong! Looking forward to chatting #entomology, #ecology and #conservation with you all.

Here's a new species to science to say hello: a desert-island woodlouse known from inside turtle nests..! From recent work on remote Ascension Island 🏝️