Heatwaves reduce mating frequency in an aquatic insect

Abstract

Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense across the globe due to global warming. Heatwaves – unusual daytime and nighttime high temperatures over three consecutive days – can disrupt physiological functions of organisms, reducing fitness. Insects are stressed because of the increasing frequency and intensity of temperature extremes. While many studies have focused on insect behaviour during heatwaves in laboratory settings, the impact of natural heatwaves in the wild remains understudied. Here, we investigated the impact of natural heatwaves on mating behaviour, flight activity, and local abundance in the damselfly, Xanthagrion erythroneurum. We found that damselfly mating frequency decreased, while flight number and net population abundance remained unchanged during natural heatwaves. The decreased mating frequency may suggest a sex-specific decoupling of mate-searching efforts under thermal stress. Heatwave driven disruptions in mating behaviours and the occurrence of more frequent and acute heatwaves in the future may have long-term consequences for damselfly populations. Our results provide crucial data of the behaviour of thermally sensitive insects to heatwaves, which could assist in developing effective conservation strategies for maintaining biodiversity in a warming world.