Will climate change affect insect pheromonal communication?

Abstract

Understanding how climate change will affect species interactions is a challenge for all branches of ecology. We have only limited understanding of how increasing temperature and atmospheric CO₂ and O₃ levels will affect pheromone-mediated communication among insects. Based on the existing literature, we suggest that the entire process of pheromonal communication, from production to behavioural response, is likely to be impacted by increases in temperature and modifications to atmospheric CO₂ and O₃ levels. We argue that insect species relying on long-range chemical signals will be most impacted, because these signals will likely suffer from longer exposure to oxidative gases during dispersal. We provide future directions for research programmes investigating the consequences of climate change on insect pheromonal communication.