What is it about?
Low-elevation tropical insect species may already be exposed to temperatures that meet or exceed their thermal limits, while high-elevation species are likely not capable of dealing with the coming temperatures. Our study of diverse leaf litter-dwelling rove beetles in Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), demonstrates decreased heat tolerance and increased cold tolerance with increasing elevation, suggesting vulnerability to climate change. Refuge in the soil, or movement upslope, may provide temporary respite from rising temperatures. However, the effectiveness of these responses remains untested and is likely to be limited.
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Photo by Jonathan Mabey on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Our work underscores how little is known about the enormous diversity of tropical insects and how they will respond to a changing climate. In ACG (and around the world), the overwhelming majority of the species do not yet have scientific names, and little is known about their individual biology.
Perspectives
This message, that, tropical forest communities are vulnerable across elevation, but in different ways, feels especially significant to us, as it speaks to the critical protective role that the Área de Conservación Guanacaste (or ACG) plays in preserving habitat these species and others like them. For some species, refuge in the soil may provide temporary respite from rising temperatures. Larger and well-connected areas also provide some opportunity for respite in the climate crisis if the species making these areas their homes can move amongst them as hotter temperatures move upslope. However, most of these species do not move much; and eventually, there will be nowhere higher to go.
Alex Smith
University of Guelph
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Heat tolerance decreases and cold tolerance increases with elevation for a species-rich insect family on a tropical volcano, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, July 2026, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2533455123.
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Resources
Heat tolerance decreases and cold tolerance increases with elevation for a species-rich insect family on a tropical volcano
open access paper
Replication data for: Heat tolerance decreases and cold tolerance increases with elevation for a species-rich insect family on a tropical volcano
replication data for paper
Temperature, precipitation and soil characteristics of Volcan Cacao - Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica
Climate data from Volcan Cacao
Presentation about: Heat tolerance decreases and cold tolerance increases with elevation for a species-rich insect family on a tropical volcano
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Tropical insects may be running out of room as temperatures rise
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