Evolution of seasonal plasticity in response to climate change differs between life-stages of a butterfly

Abstract

Climate change alters seasonal environments without altering photoperiod, creating a cue-environment mismatch for organisms that rely on photoperiod as a cue for seasonal plasticity and phenology. Evolution can potentially correct for this mismatch by altering the photoperiodic reaction norm, but often phenology depends on multiple plastic decisions made at different life stages and times of year. We tested whether seasonal plasticity in different life stages evolves independently or in concert under climate change using Pararge aegeria (Speckled wood butterfly). This butterfly uses day length as a cue for life history plasticity in two different life stages: larval development time and pupal diapause. Photoperiodic reaction norms for plasticity in these traits were first measured over 30 years ago for two different Swedish populations. In this study, we replicated historic experiments that measured these reaction norms using the contemporary populations. We found evidence for evolution of the reaction norm for larval development time, but in opposite directions in the two populations. In contrast, we found no evidence for evolution of the reaction norm for pupal diapause. These results show that different life stages can evolve differently in response to climate change and only studying one part of the life cycle will not always be enough to fully understand how climate change impacts phenotypic plasticity and phenology.