10.5061/DRYAD.N33G2
Birkett, Ali J.
Lancaster University
Blackburn, George Alan
Lancaster University
Menendez, Rosa
Lancaster University
Data from: Linking species thermal tolerance to elevational range shifts
in upland dung beetles
Dryad
dataset
2018
Agoliinus lapponum (Gyllenhal 1808)
Acrossus depressus (Kugelann 1792)
species distributions
physiological tolerance
Agrilinus ater (De Geer 1774)
2018-01-18T16:06:38Z
2018-01-18T16:06:38Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03458
7232 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Climate warming has been proposed as the main cause of the recent range
shifts seen in many species. Although species' thermal tolerances are
thought to play a key role in determining responses to climate change,
especially in ectotherms, empirical evidence is still limited. We
investigate the connection between species' thermal tolerances,
elevational range and shifts in the lower elevational limit of dung beetle
species (Coleoptera, Aphodiidea) in an upland region in the northwest of
England. We measured thermal tolerances in the laboratory, and used
current and historical distribution data to test specific hypotheses about
the area's three dominant species, particularly the species most
likely to suffer from warming: Agollinus lapponum. We found marked
differences between species in their minimum and maximum thermal tolerance
and in their elevational range and patterns of abundance. Overall,
differences in thermal limits among species matched the abundance patterns
along the elevation gradient expected if distributions were constrained by
climate. A. lapponum abundance increased with elevation and this species
showed lower maximum and minimum thermal limits than Acrossus depressus,
for which abundance declined with elevation. Consistent with lower
tolerance to high temperature, we recorded an uphill retreat of the low
elevation limit of A. lapponum (177 m over 57 years) in line with the
increase in summer temperature observed in the region over the same
period. Moreover, this species has been replaced at low and mid-elevations
by the other two warm-tolerant species (A. depressus and Agrilinus ater).
Our results provide empirical evidence that species' thermal
tolerance constrains elevational ranges and contributes to explain the
observed responses to climate warming. A mechanistic understanding of how
climate change directly affects species, such as the one presented here,
will provide a robust base to inform predictions of how individual species
and whole assemblages may change in the future.
"Current" beetle distributions at Moor House NNR (2008 and
2013)Abundance and presence/absence data for dung beetle species at Moor
House NNR in 2008 and 2013 across elevation gradients from 300 m
a.s.l.Current_distributions.csvThermal tolerance dataData from thermal
tolerance testingThermal_tolerance.csv