Effects of Fluctuating Thermal Regimes on Life History Parameters and Body Size of Ophraella communa.

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe ragweed is a global problem with its wide distribution and substantial economic and ecological cost. The ragweed beetle is an effective biological control agent for ragweed. With the increasing challenges of climate change, understanding the population responses of the ragweed beetle to thermal stress is essential to predict the impacts of climate change more accurately. Our study showed that Ophraella communa has stronger capabilities to adjust the development time with prolonged adult longevity, regulating sex differentiation and response to fluctuating temperatures. Taken together, the adaptation strategies of the ragweed beetle make it play a crucial role as an effective biological control agent for ragweed.The beetle Ophraella communa is an effective biological control agent against the invasive common ragweed spread across various ecosystems with variable temperature ranges. The trend in climate change attributed to fluctuating temperatures and abrupt rainfalls is expected to continue. This study aimed to better understand the effects of thermal fluctuation on O. communa by exposing all their life stages to heat stress under different treatments. Repeated exposure to high temperatures, relative to constant milder temperatures, increased the duration of immature development, mean generation time, and the adult longevity, decreased the intrinsic rate of increase, finite rate of population increase, net reproductive rate, survival rate, overall longevity, body length, and mass of adults and positively affected overall fecundity by prolonging the oviposition period, biasing sex ratio towards females. After exposure to heat stress, the mating success and production of viable offspring were higher in O. communa. Our findings demonstrate that exposure to heat stress negatively affects ragweed beetles, but they were able to survive and reproduce.