1. Plasticity of Life-History Traits and Adult Fitness of Fall Webworm in Relation to Climate Change.
- Author
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Wang, Kailu, Xu, Mingxuan, and Zhao, Lvquan
- Subjects
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LIFE history theory , *BIOLOGICAL fitness , *POPULATION dynamics , *BODY size , *FORESTS & forestry , *LARVAL dispersal - Abstract
Simple Summary: The fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea (Drury) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Arctiidae), is a major invasive pest of China. Although it has spread from Dandong City (about 40° N) in Liaoning Province to Nanjing City (about 32° N) in Jiangsu Province and other areas, the effects of temperature changes associated with its geographical spread on its life-history traits and adult fecundity are still unknown. Thus, the current study investigated the effects of larval-rearing temperature on the developmental duration and body mass of larvae, body size, body mass, and energy reserves of pupae, as well as the body size and fecundity of adults. We found that higher larval-rearing temperatures shortened the larval developmental period and increased larval and pupal body mass as well as pupal and adult body size. Higher larval-rearing temperatures also decreased the lipid and carbohydrate content of the pupae but increased their soluble protein content and adult egg production. These results suggest that the life-history traits and fecundity of H. cunea are plastic. This information is crucial for better understanding the dispersal adaptation strategies of H. cunea and for improving the prediction of population dynamics of this species according to environmental temperatures in different years. Temperature is an important environmental factor influencing the life-history traits of ectotherms. This study investigated the effects of larval-rearing temperature (21, 23, 25, and 27 °C) on the life-history traits and adult fitness of the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea, an economically important invasive pest of China. With the increase in temperature during the larval stage, the larval developmental duration was significantly shortened, and the body mass was significantly increased, as was that of the body mass and size of pupae. The carbohydrate and lipid content of pupae significantly decreased with increasing larval-rearing temperature, whereas the protein content significantly increased. Adult body size and egg production increased significantly with increasing larval-rearing temperature, whereas there was no significant difference in egg diameter. These results indicate that H. cunea demonstrates life-history traits plasticity. In addition, the increase in fecundity would maintain a stable population size of H. cunea under higher temperatures. Such characteristics could enable H. cunea to spread to the more southern, warmer areas of China, posing an increased risk to the forestry industry in these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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