Brood ball data from the dung beetle species Phanaeus vindex exposed to warmer temperatures

Temperature profoundly impacts insect development, but plasticity of
reproductive behaviours may mediate the impacts of temperature change on
earlier life stages. Few studies have examined the potential for adult
behavioural plasticity to buffer offspring from the warmer, more variable
temperatures associated with climate change. We used a field manipulation
to examine whether the dung beetle Phanaeus vindex alters breeding
behaviours in response to temperature changes and whether behavioural
shifts protect offspring from temperature changes. Dung beetles lay eggs
inside brood balls made of dung that are buried underground. Brood ball
depth impacts the temperatures offspring experience with consequences for
development. We placed adult females in either control or greenhouse
treatments that simultaneously increased temperature mean and variance. We
found that females in greenhouse treatments produced more brood balls that
were smaller and buried deeper than controls, suggesting brood ball number
or burial depth may come at a cost to brood ball size, which can impact
offspring nutrition. Despite being buried deeper, brood balls from the
greenhouse treatment experienced warmer mean temperatures but similar
amplitudes of temperature fluctuation relative to controls. Our findings
suggest adult behaviours may partially buffer developing offspring from
temperature changes.