Rapid evolution of increased vulnerability to an insecticide at the expansion front in a poleward‐moving damselfly

Many species are too slow to track their poleward‐moving climate niche under global warming. Pesticide exposure may contribute to this by reducing population growth and impairing flight ability. Moreover, edge populations at the moving range front may be more vulnerable to pesticides because of the rapid evolution of traits to enhance their rate of spread that shunt energy away from detoxification and repair. We exposed replicated edge and core populations of the poleward‐moving damselfly Coenagrion scitulum to the pesticide esfenvalerate at low and high densities. Exposure to esfenvalerate had strong negative effects on survival, growth rate, and development time in the larval stage and negatively affected flight‐related adult traits (mass at emergence, flight muscle mass, and fat content) across metamorphosis. Pesticide effects did not differ between edge and core populations, except that at the high concentration the pesticide‐induced mortality was 17% stronger in edge populations. Pesticide exposure may therefore slow down the range expansion by lowering population growth rates, especially because edge populations suffered a higher mortality, and by negatively affecting dispersal ability by impairing flight‐related traits. These results emphasize the need for direct conservation efforts toward leading‐edge populations for facilitating future range shifts under global warming.