@article{youngsteadt_prado_keleher_kirchner_2023, title={Can behaviour and physiology mitigate effects of warming on ectotherms? A test in urban ants}, ISSN={["1365-2656"]}, DOI={10.1111/1365-2656.13860}, abstractNote={Abstract


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 behavioural thermoregulation to reduce their exposure to stressful microclimates.

Here we examine the potential for physiological and behavioural changes to mitigate effects of environmental warming on five species of ants in a temperate forest habitat subject to urban warming.

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 preference (Tpref) for each focal species. We then asked whether thermal traits shifted at hotter sites, and whether ants avoided non‐preferred microclimates in the field.

CTmax and Tpref did not increase at warmer sites, indicating that these populations did not adapt or acclimate to urban warming. Consistent with behavioural thermoregulation, four of the five species were less likely to occupy baits where Te departed from Tpref. Apparent thermoregulation resulted from fixed diel activity patterns that helped ants avoid the most inappropriate temperatures but did not compensate for daily or spatial temperature variation: Hotter sites had hotter ants.

This study uses a novel approach to detect behavioural thermoregulation and sublethal warming in foraging insects. The results suggest that adaptation and behaviour may not protect common temperate forest ants from a warming climate, and highlight the need to evaluate effects of chronic, sublethal warming on small ectotherms.

}, journal={JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY}, author={Youngsteadt, Elsa and Prado, Sara Guiti and Keleher, Kirsten Joanna and Kirchner, Michelle}, year={2023}, month={Jan} }
 @article{chan_childers_ashe_tsai_elson_keleher_sipe_maier_sourakov_gall_et al._2022, title={A high-throughput multispectral imaging system for museum specimens}, volume={5}, ISSN={["2399-3642"]}, DOI={10.1038/s42003-022-04282-z}, abstractNote={AbstractWe present an economical imaging system with integrated hardware and software to capture multispectral images of Lepidoptera with high efficiency. This method facilitates the comparison of colors and shapes among species at fine and broad taxonomic scales and may be adapted for other insect orders with greater three-dimensionality. Our system can image both the dorsal and ventral sides of pinned specimens. Together with our processing pipeline, the descriptive data can be used to systematically investigate multispectral colors and shapes based on full-wing reconstruction and a universally applicable ground plan that objectively quantifies wing patterns for species with different wing shapes (including tails) and venation systems. Basic morphological measurements, such as body length, thorax width, and antenna size are automatically generated. This system can increase exponentially the amount and quality of trait data extracted from museum specimens.}, number={1}, journal={COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY}, author={Chan, Wei-Ping and Childers, Richard Rabideau and Ashe, Sorcha and Tsai, Cheng-Chia and Elson, Caroline and Keleher, Kirsten J. J. and Sipe, Rachel L. Hawkins and Maier, Crystal A. A. and Sourakov, Andrei and Gall, Lawrence F. F. and et al.}, year={2022}, month={Dec} }
 @article{beasley_fitzgerald_fowler_keleher_lopez-uribe_dunn_2019, title={Do Bee Wings Adapt for Flight in Urban Environments?}, volume={18}, ISSN={["1938-5412"]}, DOI={10.1656/058.018.0210}, abstractNote={Abstract Understanding how organisms respond to urban-associated environmental changes is key to protecting vulnerable species. Bees, in particular, have gained interest due to their economic and ecological roles. We used a geometric morphometric approach to describe changes in wing shape and size in the solitary bee Andrena barbara (Barbara's Miner) collected across an urban landscape. We found that, although the wing morphology suggests a limited dispersal ability in its short and narrow frame, the urban landscape did not significantly explain how wing shape or size vary. Our findings are consistent with other studies that show little variation in wing morphology in urban solitary bees, and suggests that urban habitats may potentially serve an important role in bee conservation.}, number={2}, journal={SOUTHEASTERN NATURALIST}, author={Beasley, DeAnna E. and Fitzgerald, Jacquelyn L. and Fowler, Alison and Keleher, Kirsten and Lopez-Uribe, Margarita M. and Dunn, Robert R.}, year={2019}, month={May}, pages={183–191} }