Drosophila Thermal Limit Reaction Norms Across 13 Species

13 Drosophila species were studied to characterize phenotypic plasticity in thermal limits. The dataset provides high-resolution reaction norms for cold tolerance (CTmin) and heat tolerance (CTmax) across a developmental acclimation temperature range of 12.5 to 30°C. It was created by Mads Fristrup Schou and published in 2020 to investigate interspecific variation and associations with species' climatic parameters.

Use Cases

• Model linear reaction norms for CTmin and CTmax across developmental acclimation temperatures to predict thermal plasticity.
• Associate CTmin and CTmax plasticity estimates with climatic parameters from species' distributional ranges while accounting for phylogeny.
• Compare the beneficial cold acclimation response in CTmin against the variable heat acclimation response in CTmax across the 13 Drosophila species.
• Test the trade-off hypothesis by analyzing relationships between the degree of phenotypic plasticity and basal thermal limits for CTmin and CTmax.

Strengths

• Includes data for 13 distinct Drosophila species, enabling comparative phylogenetic analysis.
• Provides high-resolution reaction norms across a controlled developmental temperature range of 12.5–30°C.
• Explicitly measures both lower (CTmin) and upper (CTmax) thermal limits, key traits for climate change studies.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 13 species, which may not capture the full diversity of thermal plasticity within the genus.
• The study focuses on laboratory developmental acclimation, which may not fully reflect responses to natural, fluctuating microclimates.
• The adaptive significance of the linear reaction norms for CTmax is noted as highly variable and limited, complicating cross-species predictions.

Provenance

Source

Mads Fristrup Schou via Dryad.

Collection Method

Experimental study obtaining high-resolution reaction norms for thermal limits across controlled developmental acclimation temperatures.

Freshness

Data last updated in 2020.

Geography

Climatic parameters are associated with the species' distributional ranges, but specific geographic coordinates are not provided.