Population and Community-Level Consequences of Early-Summer Frosts, A Phenomenon That May Decrease as the Global ClimateChanges

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Inouye 9814509 There is growing evidence that the global climate is changing, and a matching concern for the consequences this will have for natural ecosystems. Predicted changes in temperature and precipitation are likely to influence the frequency of frost damage to plants, and frost kills of plants or plant parts such as flower buds and leaves may become either more or less common. Frost damage can impact both the plants and animals such as herbivores, seed predators and pollinators that depend on them. For example, there have been local extinctions of butterflies as a consequence of frost killing plants the caterpillars eat. If the plant recover quickly from this damage by replacement from a seed bank, regrowth of damaged leaves, or simply flowering again the next year the long-term consequence of frost damage can be beneficial for the plants if it results in the less of associated herbivores or seed predators. This grant will support research on the consequences of frost for a long-lived perennial sunflower. Since 1974 frost has killed some or all sunflower buds every 2-6 years. The seed predators (tephritid flies) that lay eggs in the buds are greatly affected by the loss of flower heads, and when their populations are reduced after a frost, the plants are able to produce many more seeds and seedlings until the fly populations build back up. Thus, a decrease in the frequency of frost might actually be detrimental to the plants because seed predator populations would never be reduced.