As global temperatures rise, thermal limits play an increasingly important role in determining the persistence and spread of invasive species. Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L. Lepidotera: Erebidae) in North America provides an ideal system for studying the effect of high temperatures on invasive species performance. Here, we used fluctuating temperature regimes and exposed gypsy moth at specific points in development (first–fourth instar, pupa) to cycles of favorable(22–28°C) or high-temperature treatments 030–36°C, 32–38°C, 34–40°C) for either...

Thermal regimes can diverge considerably across the geographic range of a species, and accordingly, populations can vary in their response to changing environmental conditions. Both local adaptation and acclimatization are important mechanisms for ectotherms to maintain homeostasis as environments become thermally stressful, which organisms often experience at their geographic range limits. The spatial spread of the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) after introduction to North America provides an exemplary system for studying population variation in...

Variation in thermal performance within and between populations provides the potential for adaptive responses to increasing temperatures associated with climate change. Organisms experiencing temperatures above their optimum on a thermal performance curve exhibit rapid declines in function and these supraoptimal temperatures can be a critical physiological component of range limits. The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), is one of the best-documented biological invasions and factors driving its spatial spread are of significant ecological...

Widespread species often possess physiological mechanisms for coping with thermal heterogeneity, and uncovering these mechanisms provides insight into species responses to climate change. The emergence of non-invasive corticosterone (CORT) assays allows us to rapidly assess physiological responses to environmental change on a large scale. We lack, however, a basic understanding of how temperature affects CORT, and whether temperature and CORT interactively affect performance. Here, we examine the effects of elevated temperature on CORT and whole-organism...