Beneficial parasitoid wasps possess low adaptive potential to survive in a changing climate
In temperate areas, many insects are remaining active year-round as a result of warming winters. This could see newly winter-active insects increasingly vulnerable to unpredictable cold conditions in winter. To better understand how a beneficial insect, the parasitoid wasp Aphidius avenae, may respond to cold stress events, we measured the heritability of cold tolerance in the parasitoid. Results revealed low heritability estimates for parasitoid cold tolerance. This suggests that the parasitoids have low adaptive potential against cold stress. As a result, individuals may be more dependent on adaptive phenotypic plasticity to survive in a changing climate. Read more here.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04761-2
In temperate areas, many insects are remaining active year-round as a result of warming winters. This could see newly winter-active insects increasingly vulnerable to unpredictable cold conditions in winter. To better understand how a beneficial insect, the parasitoid wasp Aphidius avenae, may respond to cold stress events, we measured the heritability of cold tolerance in the parasitoid. Results revealed low heritability estimates for parasitoid cold tolerance. This suggests that the parasitoids have low adaptive potential against cold stress. As a result, individuals may be more dependent on adaptive phenotypic plasticity to survive in a changing climate. Read more here.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04761-2