Wing lengths of three Arctic butterfly species decrease as summers warm in Alaska
Cite this dataset
Daly, K.; Sikes, Derek; Mann, Daniel; Breed, Greg (2024). Wing lengths of three Arctic butterfly species decrease as summers warm in Alaska [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4qrfj6qh1
Abstract
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 chariclea, and Boloria 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 millimeters and 5 millimeters, with B. freija the 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.
README: Wing lengths of three Arctic butterfly species decrease as summers warm in Alaska
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4qrfj6qh1
The data are provided in three ms excel spreadsheets. The first (wldoybarc.xlsx) describes the specimens and museum metadata, the second (weather_station_data.xlsx) the weather station / climate data, and the third (wlspeciesflights_dryad.xlsx) the wing lengths and calculated growing degree days.
File: wlspeciesflights_dryad.xlsx
Wing length and growing degree day data.
- Year: Collection year
- barcode: University of Alaska Museum (UAM) accession bar code
- box barcode: UAM barcode for the box containing the specimen
- box: Box label
- envelope: UAM barcode for the envelope containing the specimen
- Species determined by: Authority who identified the species of the specimen
- species length measurer: Person who measured the specimen forewing length* *
- region: Region: W: Western North Slope, E: Eastern North Slop, SP: Seward Peninsula
- sex: specimen sex (M = male, F = female)
- Previous Summer Station: Code for the weather station for the summer priory to specimen collection
- Spring weather stationary: Code for the weather station for the spring of specimen collection
- extrap_station: Nearest operational weather station. However, it required temperature imputation based on station data historically collected closer to the specimen collection location
- extrap_gdd0: Gdd data after extrapolation, T0 = 0 degrees C
- extrap_gdd5: Gdd data after extrapolation, T0 = 5 degrees C
- light_doy_cutoff: DOY cutoff for gdd accumulation, differing by species based on life history phenology (Days from January 1)
- prev_summer_gdd: Final previous summer accumulated gdd used in models. T0 = 5. Units = Growing Degree Days
- spring_gdd: Final spring of collection year accumulated gdd used in models. T0 = 5. Units = Growing Degree Days
File: wldoybarc.xlsx
Specimen metadata from the University of Alaska Museum
- scientific name: Genus species name of the specimen
- location: Physical description of collection location
- mon: Month of collection
- day: day of month of collection
- yr: Year of collection
- doy: Day of year (Number of Days after January 1): Jan 1 = 0; Dec 31 = 365
- barcode: University of Alaska Museum accession bar code
File: weather_station_data.xlsx
Temperature data
- STATION: Station code
- NAME: Station name
- REGION: Region: W: Western North Slope, E: Eastern North Slop, SP: Seward Peninsula
- LATITUDE: Station latitude (Degrees)
- LONGITUDE: Station longitude (Degrees)
- ELEVATION: Station elevation (Meters)
- DATE: Date of measurement
- MONTH: Month of measurement
- DAY: Day of month of measurement
- YEAR: Year of measurement
- TMAX: Maximum measured temperature that day (Degrees C)
- TMIN: Minimum measured temperature that day (Degrees C)
Note: Missing weather observations are denoted “NA” in the weather_station_data.xlsx datafile.
Funding
National Science Foundation, Award: 2128242, IntBIO
National Science Foundation, Award: 1600774, BIO