El Niño and dry season rainfall influence hostplant phenology and an annual butterfly migration from Neotropical wet to dry forests |
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| Authors: | ROBERT B SRYGLEY ROBERT DUDLEY EVANDRO G OLIVEIRA RAFAEL AIZPRÚA NICOLE Z PELAEZ ANDRE J RIVEROS |
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| Institution: | 1. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apdo. 0843‐03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama;2. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;3. Faculdade de Ciências Biológicas e Saúde, Centro Universitário UNA – Campus Guajajaras, Rua Guajajaras 175, 30180‐100 – Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil;4. Departamento de Botánica, Universidad de Panamá, República de Panamá;5. 1Present address: Flora Tropical, S.A., Apdo. 0819‐07769, República de Panamá.;6. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Carrera 1A No. 18A‐10, Bogotá, Colombia;7. 2Present address: Calle 84 # 7 – 25 Int. 102, Bogotá, Colombia.;8. Departamento de Biología, Universidad Nacional de Colómbia, Apdo. 14490, Bogotá, Colombia;9. 3Present address: Center for Insect Science and Division of Neurobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. |
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| Abstract: | We censused butterflies flying across the Panama Canal at Barro Colorado Island (BCI) for 16 years and butterfly hostplants for 8 years to address the question: What environmental factors influence the timing and magnitude of migrating Aphrissa statira butterflies? The peak migration date was earlier when the wet season began earlier and when soil moisture content in the dry season preceding the migration was higher. The peak migration date was also positively associated with peak leaf flushing of one hostplant (Callichlamys latifolia) but not another (Xylophragma seemannianum). The quantity of migrants was correlated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which influenced April soil moisture on BCI and total rainfall in the dry season. Both hostplant species responded to El Niño with greater leaf flushing, and the number of adults deriving from or laying eggs on those new leaves was greatest during El Niño years. The year 1993 was exceptional in that the number of butterflies migrating was lower than predicted by the El Niño event, yet the dry season was unusually wet for an El Niño year as well. Thus, dry season rainfall appears to be a primary driver of larval food production and population outbreaks for A. statira. Understanding how global climate cycles and local weather influence tropical insect migrations improves the predictability of ecological effects of climate change. |
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| Keywords: | climate change El Niñ o ENSO insect flight insect migration migratory behavior resource limitation tropical rainforest |
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