Geographic variation in larval cold tolerance and exposure across the invasion front of a widely established forest insect

As the global climate changes, high and low temperature extremes can drive changes in species distributions. Across the range of a species, thermal tolerance can experience plasticity and may undergo selection, shaping resilience to temperature stress. In this study, we measured variation in the lower thermal tolerance of early instar larvae of an invasive forest insect, Lymantria dispar dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), using populations sourced from the climatically diverse invasion of the Eastern United States. In two chill coma recovery experiments, we recorded recovery time following a period of exposure to a non-lethal cold temperature. A third experiment quantified growth responses after chill coma recovery to evaluate sublethal effects. Our results indicate that cold tolerance is linked to regional climate, with individuals from cold climate populations recovering faster from chill coma. While this geographic gradient is seen in many species, detecting this pattern is notable for an introduced species founded from a single point-source introduction. We demonstrate that the cold temperatures used in our experiments occur in nature from cold snaps after spring hatching, but negative impacts to growth and survival appear low. We expect that population differences in cold temperature performance manifest more from differences in temperature-dependent growth than acute exposure. Evaluating intraspecific variation in cold tolerance increases our understanding of the role of climatic gradients on the physiology of an invasive species, and contributes to tools for predicting further expansion.

Border interceptions of forest insects established in Australia: intercepted invaders travel early and often

Invasive forest insects continue to accumulate in Australia (and worldwide) and cause significant impacts through costs of prevention, eradication and management, and through productivity losses and environmental and biodiversity decline. We used our recent non-native Australian forest insect species inventory to analyse border interception rates (2003–2016) of established species, and link interception frequencies with biological traits, historical establishment patterns, commodities and countries of origin. The strongest predictor of interception frequency was year of establishment. Polyphagous species were more likely to be intercepted, as were more concealed species, although this latter likely reflects the higher interceptions of bostrichid borers and other wood-boring Coleoptera relative to other taxa. Interceptions occurred more often for species native to Asia; in contrast, interceptions from other regions were more likely to be of species invasive there. While interception frequencies did not provide a good overall indicator of contemporaneous species establishments, wood and bark borers were more closely linked for establishments and interceptions. The first fifty forest insect species to establish comprised 85% of all border interceptions of established species between 2003 and 2016, while the most-recent fifty species represented just 6% of interceptions. We suggest that early-establishing species are among the “super-invaders” that continue to move globally, while more recent invasive species may be exploiting new trade pathways, new commodity associations, or changes in dynamics in their countries of origin.