Data from: Plasticity for desiccation tolerance across Drosophila species is affected by phylogeny and climate in complex ways

Comparative analyses of ectotherm susceptibility to climate change often
focus on thermal extremes, yet responses to aridity may be equally
important. Here we focus on plasticity in desiccation resistance, a key
trait shaping distributions of Drosophila species and other small
ectotherms. We examined the extent to which 32 Drosophila species, varying
in their distribution, could increase their desiccation resistance via
phenotypic plasticity involving hardening, linking these responses to
environment, phylogeny and basal resistance. We found no evidence to
support the seasonality hypothesis; species with higher hardening
plasticity did not occupy environments with higher and more seasonal
precipitation. As basal resistance increased, the capacity of species to
respond via phenotypic plasticity decreased, suggesting plastic responses
involving hardening may be constrained by basal resistance. Trade-offs
between basal desiccation resistance and plasticity were not universal
across the phylogeny and tended to occur within specific clades.
Phylogeny, environment and trade-offs all helped to explain variation in
plasticity for desiccation resistance but in complex ways. These findings
suggest some species have the ability to counter dry periods through
plastic responses, whereas others do not; and this ability will depend to
some extent on a species’ placement within a phylogeny, along with its
basal level of resistance.