Baldratia salicorniae – Salicornia fruticosa Interaction and Modeling of Their Habitat in Egypt By Using Maxent Technique

Abstract

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.

Predicting the potential geographic distribution of Nepeta septemcrenata Benth. and Phlomis aurea Decne in St. Katherine protectorate, South Sinai, Egypt, by using the maxent technique

“…contained 19 bioclimatic variables in addition to altitude (Table 3) that were more biologically significant in determining a species' eco-physiological tolerance (42). The potential habitat suitability in the map was classified into four categories: highly suitable distribution (70%-100%) (43), moderately suitable distribution (35%-70%), poorly suitable distribution (5%-35%), and unsuitable distribution (0-5%),…”