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We investigated radial growth of post oak (Quercus stellata Wangenh.) growing in a range of stand structures (forest to savanna) created in 1984 by different harvesting, thinning, and prescribed fire intervals. We related ring width index (RWI) to monthly and seasonal climate variables and time since fire to assess impacts of climate variability and interactions with management on radial growth. The RWI of all treatments was positively correlated to minimum daily temperature the previous September and precipitation late spring and early summer the current year, and negatively correlated to maximum daily temperatures and drought index late spring – early summer. June weather was most strongly correlated in four of five treatments. While stand structure affected absolute diameter growth, the RWI of savanna and forest stands responded similarly to climate variability, and low intensity prescribed fire did not influence RWI. On average, a 100 mm reduction in June precipitation decreased RWI by 7%, a 1 °C increase in previous-year September daily minimum temperature increased RWI by 3.5%, and a 1 °C increase in June maximum daily temperature decreased RWI by 3.7%. Therefore, negative effects of drought and warmer spring and summer temperatures may be reduced by a longer growing season under warmer climate scenarios. However, management did not appear to influence RWI.
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Wing lengths of three Arctic butterfly species decrease as summers warm in Alaska
Climate warming can cause arthropods to express plastic and/or evolved changes in morphology. Previous studies have demonstrated that body sizes of Arctic butterflies are influenced by the temperatures experienced as larvae. To investigate whether this was occurring among Alaskan butterflies, we analyzed temporal trends in the wing sizes of three Holarctic species,Colias hecla,Boloria charicleaandBoloria freija, using museum specimens collected in Arctic tundra regions of Alaska between 1971 and 1995. Wing length was compared to accumulated growing degree days (GDD) during both the spring of the year collected and the previous year's summer during the normal period of larval development. We used mixed‐effects models to test if spring and summer temperatures affected adult morphology. Results show that for every 1°C increase in average seasonal temperature, wingspans decreased between 0.7 and 5 mm, withB. freijathe most strongly affected. Our results suggest that the morphological sensitivity of Arctic butterflies to warming is the outcome of interactions between life‐history traits and regional climate, with all species sensitive to warming the summer before the flight year as well as warming the spring of the flight year.Boloria freija, which overwinters as late instar larvae that do not feed before pupation the following spring, was particularly strongly affected by summer warming.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2128242
- PAR ID:
- 10561697
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nordic Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecography
- Volume:
- 2024
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0906-7590
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.07075
