Eur. J. Entomol. 98 (3): 301-309, 2001 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2001.052

Arthropod distribution on an alpine elevational gradient: the relationship with preferred temperature and cold tolerance

Alan BUSE1,*, David HADLEY1, Tim SPARKS2
1 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Bangor, University of Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, UK
2 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Monks Wood, Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, UK.

The distribution of arthropod species on a 400 m elevational gradient (equivalent to a temperature decrease of 2.5°C) on Snowdon, North Wales, was examined and compared with the British distribution. Preferred temperature, an indication of optimal body temperature (Tb), and supercooling point (SCP), an indication of cold tolerance, of several species on the gradient were determined experimentally. The alpine beetle species Patrobus assimilis and Nebria rufescens had low preferred Tb, of 5.6 and 7.1°C respectively, whereas the more widespread upland species had higher preferred Tb, between 12.9 and 15.5°C. The SCP of both alpine and widespread beetles were similar, being between -6.9 and -5.8°C. The alpine species, which were smaller, were freeze intolerant, whereas the widespread species, which were larger, were freeze tolerant. On the national scale there was significant correlation between preferred Tb and species elevation, but no correlation with SCP. It is concluded that the alpine species survive on Snowdon because their optimal Tb is close to the ambient temperature at the time of day and year when they are active and because they are able to tolerate winter temperatures, by a combination of cold tolerance and shelter. Although a species' optimal niche will tend to shift upwards as mean temperatures rise with global climatic change, complex microclimatic and biotic factors make changes in distribution difficult to predict.

Keywords: Preferred temperature, optimal temperature, supercooling point, altitude gradient, mountain, Coleoptera, Byrrhidae, Carabidae, Elateridae, Opiliones

Received: September 25, 2000; Revised: April 2, 2001; Accepted: May 21, 2001; Published: October 31, 2001  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
BUSE, A., HADLEY, D., & SPARKS, T. (2001). Arthropod distribution on an alpine elevational gradient: the relationship with preferred temperature and cold tolerance. EJE, 98(3), 301-309. doi: 10.14411/eje.2001.052
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Adis J. 1979: Problems of interpreting arthropod sampling with pitfall traps. Zool. Anz. 202: 177-184
    2. Andrewartha H.G. & Birch L.C. 1954: The Distribution and Abundance of Animals. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 782 pp
    3. Bale J.S. 1993: Classes of insect cold hardiness. Func. Ecol. 7: 751-753
    4. Baust J.G. & Miller L.K. 1970: Variations in glycerol content and its influence on cold hardiness in the Alaskan carabid beetle, Pterostichus brevicornis. J. Insect Physiol. 16: 979-990 Go to original source...
    5. Begon M., Harper J.L. & Townsend C.R. 1990: Ecology: Individuals, Populations and Communities. Blackwell, Boston, 945 pp
    6. Birks H.J.B. 1988: Long-term ecological change in the British uplands. In Usher M.B. & Thompson D.B.A. (eds): Ecological Change in the Uplands. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 37-56
    7. Block W. 1990: Cold tolerance of insects and other arthropods. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 326: 613-633 Go to original source...
    8. Brown A. (ed.) 1992: The UK Environment. HMSO, London, 258 pp
    9. Buse A. 1988: Habitat selection and grouping of beetles (Coleoptera). Holarct. Ecol. 11: 241-247 Go to original source...
    10. Butterfield J.E.L. 1986: Changes in life-cycle strategies of Carabus problematicus over a range of altitudes in northern England. Ecol. Entomol. 11: 17-26 Go to original source...
    11. Campbell S. & Bowen D.Q. 1989: Geological Conservation Review: Quaternary of Wales. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough, 237 pp
    12. Christie G.C. & Regier H.A. 1988: Measures of optimal thermal habitat for four commercial fish species. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 45: 301-314 Go to original source...
    13. Cossins A.R. & Bowler K. 1987: Temperature Biology of Animals. Chapman and Hall, London, 339 pp Go to original source...
    14. Danks H.V. 1991: Winter habitats and ecological adaptations for winter survival. In Lee R.E. & Denlinger D.L. (eds) Insects at Low Temperature. Chapman and Hall, New York, pp. 231-259 Go to original source...
    15. Danks H.V. 2000: Insect cold hardiness: a Canadian perspective. CryoLetters 21: 297-308
    16. Davis A.J., Lawton J.H., Shorrocks B. & Jenkinson L.S. 1998: Individualistic species responses invalidate simple physiological models of community dynamics under global environmental change. J. Anim. Ecol. 67: 600-612 Go to original source...
    17. Halsall N.B. & Wratten S.D. 1988: The efficiency of pitfall trapping for polyphagous predatory Carabidae. Ecol. Entomol. 13: 293-299 Go to original source...
    18. Hart A.J. & Bale J.S. 1997: Evidence for the first strongly freeze-tolerant insect found in the U.K. Ecol. Entomol. 22: 242-245 Go to original source...
    19. Herter K. 1926: Thermotaxis und Hydrotaxis bei Tieren. Bethes. Handb. Norm. Path. Physiol. 11: 173-180 Go to original source...
    20. Herter K. 1953: Der Temperatursinn der Insekten. Duncker and Humblot, Berlin, 378 pp
    21. Hillyard P.D. & Sankey J.H.P. 1989: Harvestmen. Synopses Br. Fauna 4: 1-119 Go to original source...
    22. IPCC 1996: Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change. Houghton J.T., Filho L.G.M., Callander B.A., Harris N., Kattenberg A. & Maskell K. (eds): University Press, Cambridge, 572 pp
    23. Krogerus R. 1960: Okologische Studien ueber nordische Moorarthropoden. Commentat. Biol. 21 (3): 1-238
    24. Laudien H. 1973: Activity, behaviour etc. In Precht H., Christopherson J., Hensel H. & Larcher W. (eds): Temperature and Life. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 441-469 Go to original source...
    25. Lawton J.H. 1995: The response of insects to environmental change. In Harrington R. & Stork N.E. (eds): Insects in a Changing Environment. Academic Press, London, pp. 3-26
    26. Leather S.R., Walters K.F.A. & Bale J.S. 1993: The Ecology of Insect Overwintering. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 255 pp Go to original source...
    27. Lee R.E. & Denlinger D.L. (eds) 1991: Insects at Low Temperature. Chapman and Hall, New York, 513 pp Go to original source...
    28. Lennon J.L. & Turner J.R.G. 1995: Predicting the spatial distribution of climate: temperature in Great Britain. J. Anim. Ecol. 64: 370-392 Go to original source...
    29. Lindroth C.H. 1974: Coleoptera: Carabidae. Handbk. Ident. Br. Insects 4 (2), 148 pp
    30. Luff M.L. 1965: The morphology and microclimate of Dactylis glomerata tussocks. J. Ecol. 53: 771-787 Go to original source...
    31. Luff M.L. 1998: Provisional Atlas of the Ground Beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Britain. Biological Records Centre, Huntingdon, 194 pp
    32. Mani M.S. 1980: The animal life of highlands. In Mani M.S. & Giddings L.E. (eds): Ecology of Highlands. Junk, The Hague, pp. 141-159 Go to original source...
    33. Mani M.S. & Giddings L.E. 1980: Ecology of Highlands. Junk, The Hague, 249 pp Go to original source...
    34. Ostbye E. 1969: Records of Coleoptera from the Finse area. Norsk Entomol. Tidsskr. 16: 41-43
    35. Ottesen P.S. 1985: Diel activity patterns of South Scandinavian high mountain ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Holarct. Ecol. 8: 191-203 Go to original source...
    36. Parmesan C. 1996: Climate and species' range. Nature 382: 765-766 Go to original source...
    37. Parmesan C., Ryrholm N., Stefanescu C., Hill J.K., Thomas C.D., Descimon H., Huntley B., Kaila L., Kulberg J., Tammaru T., Tennent W.J., Thomas J.A. & Warren M. (1999): Poleward shifts in geographical ranges of butterfly species associated with regional warming. Nature 399: 579-583 Go to original source...
    38. Perkins D.F. 1978: Snowdonia grassland: introduction, vegetation and climate. In Heal O.W. & Perkins D.F. (eds): Production Ecology of British Moors and Grasslands. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 375-395 Go to original source...
    39. Ratcliffe D.A. & Thompson D.B.A. 1988: The British uplands: their ecological character and international significance. In Usher M.B. & Thompson D.B.A. (eds): Ecological Change in the Uplands. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 9-36
    40. Rosenberg N.J. 1974: Microclimate: the Biological Environment. Wiley, New York, 315 pp
    41. Sinclair B.J. 1999: Insect cold tolerance: how many kinds of frozen? Eur. J. Entomol. 96: 157-164
    42. Solhoy T., Ostbye E., Kauri H., Hagen A., Lien L. & Skar H.-J. 1975: Faunal structure of Hardangervidda, Norway. In Wielgolaski F.E. (ed.): Fennoscandian Tundra Ecosystems. Part 2: Animals and Systems Analysis. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 27-45 Go to original source...
    43. Somme L. 1982: Supercooling and winter survival in terrestrial arthropods. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. (A) 73: 519-543 Go to original source...
    44. Somme L. 1999: The physiology of cold hardiness in terrestrial arthropods. Eur. J. Entomol. 96: 1-10
    45. Sparks T.H., Buse A. & Gadsden R.J. 1995: Life strategies of Carabus problematicus (Coleoptera, Carabidae) at different altitudes on Snowdon, North Wales. J. Zool. Lond. 236: 1-10 Go to original source...
    46. Strathdee A.T. & Bale J.S. 1998: Life on the edge: insect ecology in arctic environments. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 43: 85-106 Go to original source...
    47. Thiele H.-U. 1964: Experimentelle Untersuchungen uber die Ursachen der Biotopbindung bei Carabiden. Z. Morph. Okol. Tiere 53: 387-452 Go to original source...
    48. Thiele H.-U. 1977: Carabid Beetles in their Environments. A Study on Habitat Selection by Adaptations in Physiology and Behaviour. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 369 pp
    49. Thiele H.-U. & Lehmann, H. 1967: Analyse und Synthese im tierokoelogischen Experiment. Z. Morph. Okol. Tiere 58: 373-380 Go to original source...
    50. Thompson D.B.A. & Brown A. 1992: Biodiversity in montane Britain: habitat variation, vegetation diversity and some objectives for conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation 1: 179-208 Go to original source...
    51. Todd V. 1949: The habits and ecology of the British harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones), with special reference to those in the Oxford district. J. Anim. Ecol. 18: 209-229 Go to original source...
    52. Uvarov B.P. 1931: Insects and climate. Trans. R. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 79: 1-247 Go to original source...
    53. Worland R., Block W. & Rothery P. 1992: Survival of sub-zero temperatures by two South Georgian beetles (Coleoptera, Perimylopidae). Polar Biol. 11: 607-613 Go to original source...
    54. Vandenberghe E. 1992: On pitfall trapping invertebrates. Entomol. News 103: 149-156

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content