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Climate variability and drought modulate the role of structural refuges for arthropods: a global experiment
  • +50
  • Gustavo Romero,
  • Thiago Gonçalves-Souza,
  • Tomas Roslin,
  • Robert Marquis,
  • Nicholas Marino,
  • Vojtech Novotny,
  • Tatiana Cornelissen,
  • Jerome Orivel,
  • Shen Sui,
  • Gustavo Aires,
  • Reuber Antoniazzi,
  • Wesley Dattilo,
  • Crasso Breviglieri,
  • Annika Busse,
  • Heloise Gibb,
  • Thiago Izzo,
  • Tomas Kadlec,
  • Victoria Kemp,
  • Monica Kersch-Becker,
  • Michal Knapp,
  • Pavel Kratina,
  • Rebecca Luke,
  • Stefan Majnarić ,
  • Robin Maritz,
  • Paulo Martins,
  • Esayas Mendesil,
  • Jaroslav Michalko,
  • Anna Mrazova,
  • Samuel Novais,
  • Cássio Pereira,
  • Mirela Perić,
  • Jana Petermann,
  • Servio Ribeiro,
  • Katerina Sam,
  • M. Kurtis Trzcinski,
  • Camila Vieira,
  • Natalie Westwood,
  • Maria Bernaschini,
  • Valentina Carvajal,
  • Ezequiel González,
  • Mariana Jausoro,
  • Stanis Kaensin,
  • Fabiola Ospina,
  • Jacob CristĂłbal-PĂ©rez,
  • Mauricio Quesada,
  • Pierre Rogy,
  • Diane Srivastava,
  • Scarlett Szpryngiel,
  • Ayco Tack,
  • Tiit Teder,
  • Martin Videla,
  • Mari-Liis Viljur,
  • Julia Koricheva
Gustavo Romero
State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Thiago Gonçalves-Souza
UNICAMP
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Tomas Roslin
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
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Robert Marquis
University of Missouri-St. Louis
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Nicholas Marino
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
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Vojtech Novotny
Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences
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Tatiana Cornelissen
UFMG
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Jerome Orivel
CNRS, UMR Ecofog
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Shen Sui
New Guinea Binatang Research Center
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Gustavo Aires
Federal Rural University of Pernambuco
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Reuber Antoniazzi
Stephen F Austin State University
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Wesley Dattilo
Instituto de EcologĂ­a AC
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Crasso Breviglieri
UNICAMP
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Annika Busse
Bavarian Forest National Park
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Heloise Gibb
La Trobe University
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Thiago Izzo
UFMT
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Tomas Kadlec
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Faculty of Environmental Sciences
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Victoria Kemp
Queen Mary, University of London
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Monica Kersch-Becker
The University of Alabama System
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Michal Knapp
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
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Pavel Kratina
Queen Mary University of London
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Rebecca Luke
Royal Holloway University of London
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Stefan Majnarić
University of Zagreb
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Robin Maritz
University of the Western Cape
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Paulo Martins
Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco
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Esayas Mendesil
Jimma University
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Jaroslav Michalko
Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra
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Anna Mrazova
Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences
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Samuel Novais
Universidad Nacional AutĂłnoma de MĂ©xico Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia
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Cássio Pereira
UFMG
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Mirela Perić
University of Zagreb
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Jana Petermann
Universitat Salzburg
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Servio Ribeiro
Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto
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Katerina Sam
University of South Bohemia and Institute of Entomology
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M. Kurtis Trzcinski
The University of British Columbia
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Camila Vieira
UNICAMP
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Natalie Westwood
The University of British Columbia Faculty of Science
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Maria Bernaschini
Instituto Multidisciplinario de BiologĂ­a Vegetal
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Valentina Carvajal
Universidad de Caldas
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Ezequiel González
University of Koblenz Landau Faculty 5 of Education
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Mariana Jausoro
Universidad Nacional de Chilecito
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Stanis Kaensin
New Guinea Binatang Research Center
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Fabiola Ospina
Universidad de Caldas
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Jacob CristĂłbal-PĂ©rez
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional AutĂłnoma de MĂ©xico.
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Mauricio Quesada
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
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Pierre Rogy
The University of British Columbia
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Diane Srivastava
University of British Columbia
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Scarlett Szpryngiel
Swedish Museum of Natural History
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Ayco Tack
Stockholm University
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Tiit Teder
University of Tartu
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Martin Videla
Instituto Multidisciplinario de BiologĂ­a Vegetal
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Mari-Liis Viljur
University of Tartu
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Julia Koricheva
University of London
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Abstract

Current climate change is disrupting biotic interactions and eroding biodiversity worldwide. However, species sensitive to drought, high temperatures and climate variability might persist in microclimatic refuges, such as leaf shelters built by arthropods. We conducted a distributed experiment across an 11,790 km latitudinal gradient to explore how the importance of leaf shelters for terrestrial arthropods changes with latitude, elevation and underlying climate. Our analyses revealed leaf shelters to be key facilitative elements for the diversity of arthropods. Predator diversity and overall biomass within shelters increased with local drought and temperature variability, regardless of latitude and elevation. In contrast, shelter usage by herbivores increased with abundance of predators on those same plants and in wetter climates. Projected increase in climatic variability and drought in certain geographic regions is therefore likely to enhance the importance of biotic refuges, especially for predators, in mitigating the impact of climate change on species persistence.