Snapshot observations demonstrate within- and across-year weather related changes in butterfly behavior

Abstract

Climate change impacts animal abundances, distributions, and behaviors, frequently at the detriment to individuals. However, for many animals, including butterflies, current research focuses primarily on estimating abundance and distribution without observing behavior. Because behaviors often respond to climate change before other metrics, understanding behavioral change is critical for future climate change research and projections. Therefore, we investigated weather related changes in adult butterfly behavior using snapshot behavioral observations taken as part of a four year study of butterfly abundance throughout North Dakota, USA. Across 1,107 site-visits, we categorized adult butterfly behavior using 146,610 observations while also recording local weather variables with each site visit. We found patterns in butterfly behavior within years, including more flying and less resting at sites that were warmer during that site visit. We also observed differences across years, including more flying overall and a weaker behavioral response to temperature in a year that was particularly cool and wet. Further incorporating such behavioral observations into abundance surveys can help lead to better insights about weather-related variation in behavioral patterns and their consequences for animals facing climate change.