TY - JOUR

T1 - Climate Change Helps Polar Invasives Establish and Flourish

T2 - Evidence from Long-Term Monitoring of the Blowfly Calliphora vicina

AU - Daly, Ella Z.

AU - Gerlich, Hannah Sørine

AU - Frenot, Yves

AU - Høye, Toke T.

AU - Holmstrup, Martin

AU - Renault, David

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.

PY - 2023/1

Y1 - 2023/1

N2 - The isolated sub-Antarctic islands are of major ecological interest because of their unique species diversity and long history of limited human disturbance. However, since the presence of Europeans, these islands and their sensitive biota have been under increasing pressure due to human activity and associated biological invasions. In such delicate ecosystems, biological invasions are an exceptional threat that may be further amplified by climate change. We examined the invasion trajectory of the blowfly Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy 1830). First introduced in the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands in the 1970s, it is thought to have persisted only in sheltered microclimates for several decades. Here, we show that, in recent decades, C. vicina has been able to establish itself more widely. We combine experimental thermal developmental data with long-term ecological and meteorological monitoring to address whether warming conditions help explain its current success and dynamics in the eastern Kerguelen Islands. We found that warming temperatures and accumulated degree days could explain the species’ phenological and long-term invasion dynamics, indicating that climate change has likely assisted its establishment. This study represents a unique long-term view of a polar invader and stresses the rapidly increasing susceptibility of cold regions to invasion under climate change.

AB - The isolated sub-Antarctic islands are of major ecological interest because of their unique species diversity and long history of limited human disturbance. However, since the presence of Europeans, these islands and their sensitive biota have been under increasing pressure due to human activity and associated biological invasions. In such delicate ecosystems, biological invasions are an exceptional threat that may be further amplified by climate change. We examined the invasion trajectory of the blowfly Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy 1830). First introduced in the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands in the 1970s, it is thought to have persisted only in sheltered microclimates for several decades. Here, we show that, in recent decades, C. vicina has been able to establish itself more widely. We combine experimental thermal developmental data with long-term ecological and meteorological monitoring to address whether warming conditions help explain its current success and dynamics in the eastern Kerguelen Islands. We found that warming temperatures and accumulated degree days could explain the species’ phenological and long-term invasion dynamics, indicating that climate change has likely assisted its establishment. This study represents a unique long-term view of a polar invader and stresses the rapidly increasing susceptibility of cold regions to invasion under climate change.

KW - biological invasion

KW - Calliphoridae

KW - climate change

KW - degree day

KW - ectotherm

KW - insect development

KW - phenology

KW - sub-Antarctic

KW - thermal requirements

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146783400&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/biology12010111

DO - 10.3390/biology12010111

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36671803

AN - SCOPUS:85146783400

VL - 12

JO - Biology

JF - Biology

SN - 2079-7737

IS - 1

M1 - 111

ER -