Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York Y010 5DD, UK.
Biol Lett. 2012 Aug 23;8(4):590-3. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.0112. Epub 2012 Apr 4.
Different vegetation types can generate variation in microclimates at local scales, potentially buffering species from adverse climates. To determine if species could respond to such microclimates under climatic warming, we evaluated whether ectothermic species (butterflies) can exploit favourable microclimates and alter their use of different habitats in response to year-to-year variation in climate. In both relatively cold (Britain) and warm (Catalonia) regions of their geographical ranges, most species shifted into cooler, closed habitats (e.g. woodland) in hot years, and into warmer, open habitats (e.g. grassland) in cooler years. Additionally, three-quarters of species occurred in closed habitats more frequently in the warm region than in the cool region. Thus, species shift their local distributions and alter their habitat associations to exploit favourable microclimates, although the magnitude of the shift (approx. 1.3% of individuals from open to shade, per degree Celsius) is unlikely to buffer species from impacts of regional climate warming.
不同的植被类型可以在局部尺度上产生小气候的变化，从而潜在地保护物种免受不利气候的影响。为了确定物种是否可以在气候变暖的情况下对这种小气候做出反应，我们评估了变温动物（蝴蝶）是否可以利用有利的小气候，并根据气候的年际变化改变它们对不同栖息地的利用。在地理分布范围的相对寒冷（英国）和温暖（加泰罗尼亚）地区，大多数物种在炎热年份进入较凉爽、封闭的栖息地（如林地），在凉爽年份进入较温暖、开阔的栖息地（如草原）。此外，四分之三的物种在温暖地区比在凉爽地区更频繁地出现在封闭的栖息地中。因此，尽管物种的局部分布和生境组合的变化（每摄氏度约有 1.3%的个体从开阔地转移到阴凉地）可能不会缓冲物种免受区域气候变暖的影响，但它们确实会利用有利的小气候。
