Background
In some localities of the Mediterranean coast and the Nile land region, the gall midge Schizomyia buboniae Frauenfeld, 1859 (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) induce small barrel-shaped galls on the stem of Deverra tortuosa (Desf.) DC. (Family: Apiaceae). Host plants interact with several insects in a different manner. The current work studies the interaction of S. buboniae with D. tortuosa. Furthermore, the present work predicted the distribution of S. buboniae and its host plant D. tortuosa in Egypt by using MaxEnt modeling, in addition to the effect of elevation and vegetation cover on its distribution.
Results
The predominance of S. buboniae occurred during late winter to spring. The S. buboniae larvae are occasionally attacked by endoparasitoids of the genus Inostemma (Platygastridae). There was a significant positive correlation between the number of galls per plant and the plant cover within the study localities. Meanwhile, there was no significant correlation between the number of galls per plant and the altitude within the study localities. Also, the high temperature and altitude were the most important predictors for the habitat distribution of S. buboniae and its host plant D. tortuosa. The predicted distribution range size for S. buboniae is less than the total predicted distribution range size for D. tortuosa.
Conclusions
The current study suggests that the gall inducer prefers large plants more than small ones. The present study suggests that the habitat distribution patterns of S. buboniae and its host plant D. tortuosa in Egypt can be modeled using a small number of occurrence records together with environmental variable layers for the study area through the maximum entropy modeling technique.
In some regions of the Deltaic Mediterranean coastal land of Egypt, Baldratia salicorniae Kieffer, 1897 (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is a gall-forming insect that induces fleshy galls on the stem of Salicornia fruticosa (L.) L. (Family: Amaranthaceae). the current study tried to investigate the interaction of B. salicorniae with its host plant S. fruticosa in some regions of the Mediterranean coast and study the effect of altitude and vegetation cover on galls induction. In addition, to estimate the predicted geographic distribution habitats of B. salicorniae and its host plant S. fruticosa in Egypt by using MaxEnt technique.
The threatened and endangered species distribution data are frequently clustered, and modeling their suitable habitat distribution by commonly utilized modeling methods is difficult. Therefore, this work aimed to assess the potential geographic distribution of Nepeta septemcrenata and Phlomis aurea in the St. Katherine protectorate using a new maxent approach. In addition to identifying the principal environmental parameters, which highly affect the potential geographic distribution of Nepeta septemcrenata and Phlomis aurea in the St. Katherine protectorate. The findings presented that the assessment distribution of Nepeta septemcrenata and Phlomis aurea is concentrated in the high-mountain region in SKP. While the driest quarter's precipitation, the coldest quarter's precipitation, the warmest quarter's mean temperature, the coldest quarter's mean temperature, and elevation all had a role in Nepeta septemcrenata distribution. The coldest quarter's mean temperature, the driest quarter's mean temperature, precipitation seasonality, the warmest quarter's mean temperature, all had a role in the distribution of P. aurea. Additionally, the highly suitable ecological conditions for Nepeta septemcrenata cover about 200.5 km2 from the total protectorate area, while the highly suitable ecological conditions for Phlomis aurea cover only 104.1 km2. This work may help in conservation planning for these threatened and endemic species.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.