Can behavior and physiology mitigate effects of warming on ectotherms? A test in urban ants

1. Global climate change is expected to have pervasive effects on the diversity and distribution of species, particularly ectotherms whose body temperatures depend on environmental temperatures. However, these impacts remain difficult to predict, in part because ectotherms may adapt or acclimate to novel conditions or may use behavioral thermoregulation to reduce their exposure to stressful microclimates.
2. Here we examine the potential for physiological and behavioral changes to mitigate effects of environmental warming on five species of ants in a temperate forest habitat subject to urban warming.
3. We worked in eight urban and eight non-urban forest sites in North Carolina, USA; sites experienced a 1.1°C range of mean summer air temperatures. At each site, we documented species-specific microclimates (ant operative temperatures, Te) and ant activity on a transect of 14 bait stations at three times of day. In the laboratory, we measured upper thermal tolerance (CTmax) and thermal pr..., ,