Data for: Microclimate structures communities, predation and herbivory in the High Arctic

 

In a warming world, changes in climate may result in species-level responses as well as changes in community structure through knock-on effects on ecological interactions such as predation and herbivory. Yet, the links between these responses at different levels are still inadequately understood. Assessing how microclimatic conditions affect each of them at local scales provides information essential for understanding the consequences of macroclimatic changes projected in the future. 

Focusing on the rapidly changing High Arctic, we examine how a community based on a common resource species (avens, Dryas spp.), a specialist insect herbivore (Sympistis zetterstedtii), and natural enemies of lepidopteran herbivores (parasitoids) varies along a multidimensional microclimatic gradient. We ask (1) how parasitoid community composition varies with local abiotic conditions, (2) how the community-level response of parasitoids is linked to species-specific traits (koino- or idiobiont life...

在全球变暖的背景下，气候变化不仅会引发物种层面的生态响应，还会通过捕食、植食等生态互作的连锁效应改变群落结构。然而，不同组织层级的这类响应之间的关联机制仍未得到充分阐释。在局地尺度上评估微气候条件对这两类响应的影响，可为理解未来预估的大气候变化所带来的生态后果提供关键依据。

本研究聚焦正经历快速气候变化的高北极（High Arctic）地区，探究以优势资源物种——仙女木（avens，Dryas spp.）、专食性昆虫植食者Sympistis zetterstedtii，以及鳞翅目植食者的天敌——寄生性天敌（parasitoids）——所构成的群落，如何沿多维微气候梯度发生变化。本研究旨在解答两个科学问题：(1) 寄生性天敌群落组成如何随局地非生物环境条件发生变化；(2) 寄生性天敌的群落级响应如何与其物种特异性性状（抑寄生长发育型（koinobiont）或即刻致死型（idiobiont）生活史……）相关联。