Tropical climate change impacts
Climate change impacts on species and ecosystems are now well known. Changes in species distributions, phenology and extirpation resulting from warming have been observed in variety of European and North American systems. However, how climate change has impacted or will impact biodiversity in the tropics is less clear. Through modelling (especially macrophsyiological approaches) and on-the-ground field-based approaches our lab aims to address this uncertainty. Recent research has highlighted possible high vulnerability of tropical ectotherms to warming while also emphasizing potential mechanisms for species to escape those warming impacts.
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Dongmo MAK, Brattström O, Fiaboe KKM, Hanna R, Bonebrake TC (2025) Habitat effects on local adaptation and plasticity of thermal tolerance across life stages in tropical Bicyclus butterflies. Evolutionary Ecology, 39, 657–675
Zhen Y, Dongmo MAK, Harrigan RJ, Ruegg K, Fu Q, Hanna R, Bonebrake TC, Smith TB (2023) Strong habitat-specific phenotypic plasticity but no genome-wide differentiation across a rainforest gradient in an African butterfly. Evolution, qpad052
Wenda C, Xing S, Nakamura A, Bonebrake TC (2021) Morphological and behavioural differences facilitate tropical butterfly persistence in variable environments. Journal of Animal Ecology, 90, 2888-2900
