Can gypsy moth stand the heat? A reciprocal transplant experiment with an invasive forest pest across its southern range margin

Faske, Trevor M.; Thompson, Lily M.; Banahene, Nana; Levorse, Andi; Herrera, Melisa Quiroga; Sherman, Kayla; Timko, Sarah E.; Yang, Banruo; Gray, David; Parry, Dylan; Tobin, Patrick C.; Eckert, Andrew J.; Johnson, Derek M.; Grayson, Kristine L.

doi:10.1007/s10530-018-1907-9

Cited by 17 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…The temperatures were selected based on previous research suggesting that the optimum temperature for development in the lab strain of L. d. dispar was 29°C (Casagrande et al., 1987; Logan et al., 1991) and that successful development to adulthood was impeded at temperatures below 10°C (Casagrande et al., 1987) and above 32°C (Thompson et al., 2017). Additionally, this span of temperatures was within those that are experienced in the current invasive range (Faske et al., 2019). Caterpillars were housed in individual plastic cups with cubes of artificial diet (USDA APHIS formulation) that were replaced weekly.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…This suggests a potential performance trade‐off in which this species has poorer survival in warm climates, but grows to a larger body size. For female L. d. dispar , larger pupal mass is advantageous because it is highly correlated with fecundity (Faske et al., 2019). Similarly, larger males can have increased flight capacity, giving them an advantage in mate‐finding (Agosta, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Individuals were checked daily and the date of pupation and adult emergence were recorded. We measured pupal mass, which correlates with fecundity in females (Faske et al., 2019; Honěk, 1993), for each individual on the date of pupation. Based on morphology, sex was recorded for each individual at adult emergence or determined from the pupal case.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recent work has expanded these questions to include warm temperatures (Banahene et al., 2018; Limbu et al., 2017). This area of research has shown that a range retraction along the southeastern invasion front is correlated with supraoptimal temperatures (Tobin et al., 2014) and provides support for local adaptation of fitness‐related traits in southern populations (Faske et al., 2019; Friedline et al., 2019; Thompson et al., 2017). These lines of evidence suggest that while L. d. dispar may have become thermally constrained in the southeastern portion of the invasive range, these populations may be locally adapted to current climatic conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Climate‐related geographical variation in performance traits across the invasion front of a widespread non‐native insect

Thompson

Powers

Appolon

et al. 2020

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Invasive species are ideal systems for testing geographical differences in performance traits and measuring evolutionary responses as a species spreads across divergent climates and habitats. The European gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), is a generalist forest defoliator introduced to Medford, Massachusetts, USA in 1869. The invasion front extends from Minnesota to North Carolina and the ability of this species to adapt to local climate may contribute to its continuing spread. We evaluated the performance of populations along the climatic gradient of the invasion front to test for a relationship between climate and ecologically important performance traits. Location Eastern United States of America Taxon Lymantria dispar dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) Methods Insects from 14 populations across the US invasion front and interior of the invasive range were reared from hatch to adult emergence in six constant temperature treatments. The responses of survival, pupal mass and larval development time were analysed as a function of source climate (annual mean normal temperature), rearing temperature and their interaction using multiple polynomial regression. Results With the exception of female development time, there were no significant interactions between source climate and rearing temperature, indicating little divergence in the shape of thermal reaction norms among populations. Source population and rearing temperature were significant predictors of survival and pupal mass. Independent of rearing temperature, populations from warmer climates had lower survival than those from colder climates, but attained larger body size despite similar development times. Larval development time was dependent on rearing temperature, but there were not consistent relationships with source climate. Main Conclusions Thermal adaptation can be an important factor shaping the spread of invasive species, particularly in the context of climate change. Our results suggest that L. d. dispar is highly plastic, but has undergone climate‐related adaptation in thermal performance and life‐history traits as it spread across North America.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Climate‐related geographical variation in performance traits across the invasion front of a widespread non‐native insect

Thompson

Powers

Appolon

et al. 2020

Journal of Biogeography

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“…For insects, increases in size reflected by pupal mass have clear benefits for fecundity, and extending development time provides a longer period for feeding and growth before maturation (Taylor, ). At the southern invasion front, the effects from supraoptimal temperatures have been found to be sublethal (Faske et al, ) and the amount of heat in a given year is highly variable, resulting in rapid temporal shifts in range dynamics from expansion to contraction (Tobin et al, ). While the thermal conditions in this region can be suboptimal, our findings suggest that adaptive changes for increased heat tolerance are occurring with selection for increased development time and size.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary genomics of gypsy moth populations sampled along a latitudinal gradient

et al. 2019

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The European gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) was first introduced to Massachusetts in 1869 and within 150 years has spread throughout eastern North America. This large‐scale invasion across a heterogeneous landscape allows examination of the genetic signatures of adaptation potentially associated with rapid geographical spread. We tested the hypothesis that spatially divergent natural selection has driven observed changes in three developmental traits that were measured in a common garden for 165 adult moths sampled from six populations across a latitudinal gradient covering the entirety of the range. We generated genotype data for 91,468 single nucleotide polymorphisms based on double digest restriction‐site associated DNA sequencing and used these data to discover genome‐wide associations for each trait, as well as to test for signatures of selection on the discovered architectures. Genetic structure across the introduced range of gypsy moth was low in magnitude (FST = 0.069), with signatures of bottlenecks and spatial expansion apparent in the rare portion of the allele frequency spectrum. Results from applications of Bayesian sparse linear mixed models were consistent with the presumed polygenic architectures of each trait. Further analyses indicated spatially divergent natural selection acting on larval development time and pupal mass, with the linkage disequilibrium component of this test acting as the main driver of observed patterns. The populations most important for these signals were two range‐edge populations established less than 30 generations ago. We discuss the importance of rapid polygenic adaptation to the ability of non‐native species to invade novel environments.

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Assessing drivers of localized invasive spread to inform large‐scale management of a highly damaging insect pest

Nunez‐Mir

Walter

Grayson

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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Studies of biological invasions at the macroscale or across multiple scales can provide important insights for management, particularly when localized information about invasion dynamics or environmental contexts is unavailable. In this study, we performed a macroscale analysis of the roles of invasion drivers on the local scale dynamics of a high‐profile pest, Lymantria dispar dispar L., with the purpose of improving the prioritization of vulnerable areas for treatment. Specifically, we assessed the relative effects of various anthropogenic and environmental variables on the establishment rate of 8010 quadrats at a localized scale (5 × 5 km) across the entire L. dispar transition zone (the area encompassing the leading population edge, currently from Minnesota to North Carolina). We calculated the number of years from first detection of L. dispar in a quadrat to the year when probability of establishment of L. dispar was greater than 99% (i.e., waiting time to establishment after first detection). To assess the effects of environmental and anthropogenic variables on each quadrat's waiting time to establishment, we performed linear mixed‐effects regression models for the full transition zone and three subregions within the zone. Seasonal temperatures were found to be the primary drivers of local establishment rates. Winter temperatures had the strongest effects, especially in the northern parts of the transition zone. Furthermore, the effects of some factors on waiting times to establishment varied across subregions. Our findings contribute to identifying especially vulnerable areas to further L. dispar spread and informing region‐specific criteria by invasion managers for the prioritization of areas for treatment.

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Can gypsy moth stand the heat? A reciprocal transplant experiment with an invasive forest pest across its southern range margin

Cited by 17 publications

References 55 publications

Climate‐related geographical variation in performance traits across the invasion front of a widespread non‐native insect

Climate‐related geographical variation in performance traits across the invasion front of a widespread non‐native insect

Evolutionary genomics of gypsy moth populations sampled along a latitudinal gradient

Assessing drivers of localized invasive spread to inform large‐scale management of a highly damaging insect pest

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