Cope Olivia L, Wetzel William C
Department of Biology, Whitworth University, Spokane, WA, 99205, USA.
Department of Biology, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA, 98447, United States.
Oecologia. 2025 May 28;207(6):91. doi: 10.1007/s00442-025-05733-0.
The frequency and intensity of heat waves are on the rise due to climate change. Heat waves are temporally discrete, and thus occur at different stages of plant development. Yet, compared with mean temperature, little is known about how the timing of extreme heat events interacts with the timing of plant development. In this study, we varied the timing of experimental heat waves applied to common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) to determine how heat waves timing impacts plant developmental timing and subsequent plant-arthropod interactions. We found that heat waves delay and synchronize plant development, and that these effects are particularly strong for early season heat waves. Heat wave-exposed plants also supported fewer species of arthropods and experienced less chewing herbivory than ambient-temperature controls. Our study reveals that the relationship between extreme event timing and plant developmental timing will shape how increasing prevalence of extreme heat events impacts plant-arthropod communities.
由于气候变化，热浪的频率和强度正在上升。热浪在时间上是离散的，因此发生在植物发育的不同阶段。然而，与平均温度相比，关于极端高温事件的时间与植物发育时间如何相互作用，我们知之甚少。在本研究中，我们改变了施加于普通马利筋（Asclepias syriaca）的实验性热浪的时间，以确定热浪时间如何影响植物发育时间以及随后的植物 - 节肢动物相互作用。我们发现，热浪会延迟并同步植物发育，而且这些影响对于早季热浪尤为强烈。与环境温度对照组相比，遭受热浪的植物所支持的节肢动物物种也更少，并且遭受的咀嚼式食草动物侵害也更少。我们的研究表明，极端事件时间与植物发育时间之间的关系将决定极端高温事件日益增加的发生率如何影响植物 - 节肢动物群落。
