The high invasion success of fall armyworm is related to life-history strategies across a range of stressful temperatures

Pengxiang Wu, Megan L. Head, Chang Liu, Muhammad Haseeb, Runzhi Zhang*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    10 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Insects living in unfavorably high or low temperatures are predicted to display a fast or slow life-history strategy. Here, we examined life histories of fall armyworm (FAW), a globally important invasive species with a broad ecological niche, at five constant temperatures of 13, 19, 25, 31 and 37°C, to study life-history responses to different temperatures. RESULTS: In our experiment, FAW had lower lifetime fecundity at unfavorable temperatures, a finding that is consistent with the idea that FAW can shift resources from reproduction to other functions under stressful conditions—such as heat or cold tolerance. Given the adverse effects of stressful temperatures, life-history strategies arise from individuals having limited remaining resources to allocate towards vital functions like survival or reproduction. Here we show plasticity in life-history strategies adopted at different temperatures. Rather than simply varying along a fast–slow continuum, FAW at unfavorably high temperatures exhibited lower daily fecundity and longer reproductive lifespans, and at unfavorably low temperatures showed a shorter peak in reproduction later in life, compared with FAW at 25°C. Such patterns, if adaptive, could suggest a strategy mitigating reproductive and mortality risk in unfavorable environments, however, this remains to be tested. CONCLUSION: Our analysis suggests that the high invasion success of FAW may result from their ability to adjust life-history strategies, across a range of stressful temperatures, in a way that reduces not only mortality, but also fecundity loss. The adoption of such strategies may be instrumental for the global invasion success of FAW.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2398-2404
    Number of pages7
    JournalPest Management Science
    Volume78
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022

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