Employing purpose-designed environmental chambers to explore the phenological consequences of behavioral thermoregulation in dynamic landscapes

Reproducing realistic environments in experiments for behavioral ecological research is challenging due to environmental complexity. Observational studies allow investigators to engage realistic environments but limit experimental control. Experiments allow isolation of effects but limit investigators’ ability to study them in potentially important context. Insect behavior affecting phenology depends on many environmental aspects, posing optimization problems for organisms that must balance several requirements. We constructed an environmental chamber capable of reproducing dynamics of thermal environments in the field, to study the phenological consequences of various thermal scenarios, and to provide a realistic thermal background in which to study processes such as aggregation, feeding, and oviposition. Preliminary results can be compared with ongoing simulation work. To study effects of behavior and thermal heterogeneity on insect phenology, we used blow flies of forensic relevance as a model and programmed the environmental chamber to reproduce patterns observed in decomposing vertebrate remains in the field. Spatial positions of the larvae in the chamber were observed, and development times recorded. Effects of environmental heterogeneity and dynamics on phenological outcomes are discussed.