Université de Fribourg

Community‐level plant palatability increases with elevation as insect herbivore abundance declines

Descombes, Patrice ; Marchon, Jérémy ; Pradervand, Jean-Nicolas ; Bilat, Julia ; Guisan, Antoine ; Rasmann, Sergio ; Pellissier, Loïc

In: Journal of Ecology, 2017, vol. 105, no. 1, p. 142–151

Plants protect themselves against herbivore attacks through a myriad of physical structures and toxic secondary metabolites. Together with abiotic factors, herbivores are expected to modulate plant defence strategies within plant assemblages. Because the abundance of insect herbivore decreases in colder environments, the palatability of plants in communities at higher elevation should shift...

Université de Fribourg

Simulated shifts in trophic niche breadth modulate range loss of alpine butterflies under climate change

Descombes, Patrice ; Pradervand, Jean-Nicolas ; Golay, Joaquim ; Guisan, Antoine ; Pellissier, Loïc

In: Ecography, 2016, vol. 39, no. 8, p. 796–804

Species currently track suitable abiotic and biotic conditions under ongoing climate change. Adjustments of trophic interactions may provide a mechanism for population persistence, an option that is rarely included in model projections. Here, we model the future distribution, of butterflies in the western Alps of Switzerland under climate change, simulating potential diet expansion resulting...

Université de Fribourg

Functional homogenization of bumblebee communities in alpine landscapes under projected climate change

Pradervand, Jean-Nicolas ; Pellissier, Loïc ; Randin, Christophe F. ; Guisan, Antoine

In: Climate Change Responses, 2014, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 1

Background: Bumblebees represent an active pollinator group in mountain regions and assure the pollination of many different plant species from low to high elevations. Plant-pollinator interactions are mediated by functional traits. Shift in bumblebee functional structure under climate change may impact plant-pollinator interactions in mountains. Here, we estimated bumblebee upward shift in...