Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Sinclair, B.J., Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; Williams, C.M., Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Terblanche, J.S., Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Among-population variation in insect thermal performance is important for understanding patterns and mechanisms of evolution and predicting insect responses to altered climate regimes in future or novel environments. Here we review and discuss several key examples of among-population variation in insect thermal performance, including latitudinal gradients in chill coma recovery time, variation in energy consumption and metabolic biochemistry, rapid changes in thermal biology with range expansion in invasive and introduced species, and potential constraints on variation in thermal performance traits. This review highlights that while there is substantial evidence for among-population variation that is generally correlated with local climate regimes, neither the underlying mechanisms nor the implications for whole-animal fitness in the field are well understood. We also discuss the potential limitations of interpreting evolved variation among populations and argue for a genes-to-environment approach to population-level variation in thermal biology of insects. © 2012 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
climate change; evolutionary biology; fitness; genotype-environment interaction; insect; invasive species; latitudinal gradient; life history trait; performance assessment; animal; article; climate change; energy metabolism; evolution; genetic variability; genetics; genotype environment interaction; insect; physiology; temperature; Animals; Biological Evolution; Climate Change; Energy Metabolism; Gene-Environment Interaction; Genetic Variation; Insects; Temperature; Animalia; Hexapoda