D3089: Relative humidity effects on butterfly fitness

Monday, November 11, 2024

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 6, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

MJ

Marnesha Nicole Jones

Ph.D. Student
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

Co-Author(s)

NT

Natasha Tigreros

University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
GD

Goggy Davidowitz (he/him/his)

Professor
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

Globally, the increased co-occurrences of droughts and heat waves are having significant negative impacts on plant-insect interactions. While research in the last decades has helped us to understand the various effects of drought on plants, less is known about how drought stress impacts the nutrition, performance, and fitness of insect herbivores, especially in the adult stage. Drought can occur in a variety of ways, two of them being (1) when temperatures rise, causing an increase in soil evaporation and a decrease in plant transpiration as they try to conserve water and (2) when there is less-than-average rainfall for a prolonged period which reduces the amount of moisture in the environment. Insects, especially herbivorous insects, mainly get their water from the plants that they consume. However, when drought occurs and plants are unable to provide a sufficient amount of water for the insects’ needs, most insects will attempt to get water from their surrounding environment. In this study, we used Pieris rapae, the cabbage white butterfly, to explore the influence of environmental drought on butterfly fitness. Larvae were raised on brassica plants under three (30%, 60%, 90%) relative humidity treatments in a greenhouse setting. Once larvae pupated, they were transferred to a different relative humidity until eclosion. We examined butterfly fitness by measuring egg count, hatching success, and adult longevity. We show that relative humidity can directly impact butterfly fitness through effects on different components of fitness.