Asymmetric climate warming does not benefit plant invaders more than natives.

Both climate warming and biological invasions are primary threats to species diversity and its functioning. Although asymmetric climate warming (i.e., nighttime temperatures increasing faster than daytime temperatures) has long been recognized, its effects on plant invasions remain poorly explored. We report on one field experiment that compared the responses of 18 native plants and 17 invasive plants to three warming regimes: daytime warming (07: 00-19:00), nighttime warming (19:00-07:00), and diurnal warming (07:00-07:00). We found that invasive and native plants exhibited similar survival under the daytime and nighttime warming; however, invasive plants had lower survival than native plants under the diurnal warming. Regardless of warming conditions, invasive and native plants were similar in total biomass, leaf and root areas, biomass allocation, temperature sensitivity, and phenotypic plasticity. Across invasive and native plants, nighttime warming increased total biomass, but daytime and diurnal warming did not. In addition, three warming treatments differentially influenced temperature sensitivity or phenotypic plasticity. Our findings show that plant invaders might not profit more from asymmetric climate warming than natives in tolerance, growth, and plasticity, and also highlight that considering the disparate effects of asymmetric climate warming may be useful for assessing plant invasion outcomes.

Demographic analysis of the fitness of Problepsis superans (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) feeding on three ligustrum (Lamiales: Oleaceae) species.

Using the age-stage, two-sex life table, the effects of three ligustrum species, Ligustrum x vicaryi Hort., Ligustrum quihoui Carrière, and Ligustrum lucidum Aiton, on the fitness of Problepsis superans (Butler, 1885) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) were assayed by considering life table parameters of P. superans at 27 +/- 1 degrees C, 70 +/- 5% relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h. The means and SEs of population parameters were calculated using the jackknife and bootstrap methods. The total developmental time of larval stage of P. superans on L. x vicaryi was significantly shorter than that on L. x vicaryi and L. quihoui, whereas higher fecundity was observed on L. x vicaryi. The highest value of the finite rate of increase was observed on L. x vicaryi. The intrinsic rate of increase of P. superans on L. x vicaryi, L. quihoui, and L. lucidum, was 0.147 +/- 0.004, 0.130 +/- 0.004, and 0.112 +/- 0.005, respectively, which differed significantly among the three ligustrum species. The net reproductive rate varied from 122.8 +/- 24.7 female offspring on L. lucidum to 242.2 +/- 36.2 female offspring on L. x vicaryi. The lowest mean generation time was observed on L. x vicaryi. The gross reproductive rate of P. superans on the three ligustrum species did not significantly differ. Based on growth and population parameters, the suitability of the three ligustrum species to P. superans is ranked from high to low in the order as L. x vicaryi, L. quihoui, and L. lucidum.