Displacement of Aphytis chrysomphali by Aphytis melinus, parasitoids of the California red scale, in the Iberian Peninsula

Boyero, Juan Ramón; Vela, José Miguel; Wong, Eva; Ripoll, Carlos Garcia; Verdú, María Jesús; Urbaneja, Alberto; Vanaclocha, Pilar

doi:10.5424/sjar/2014121-5266

Cited by 9 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(36 reference statements)

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“…() has never been observed (Asplanato & García‐Marí, ; Tena et al., ; Vanaclocha et al., ). Various factors, such as specific climatic conditions or the absence of sugar food resources for A. melinus adult females at the end of the season, have been named among the potential causes explaining the different parasitoid–host dynamics (Boyero et al., ; Tena et al., ). The high diversity of natural enemies and herbivores associated with Mediterranean citrus agroecosystems is probably another main difference between our system and that presented by Murdoch et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present study demonstrates the potential of predation as a determining regulating factor of a key pest in a perennial crop and re- A. melinus has been widely studied, but the stability in the parasitoid-host system described by Murdoch et al (2005) has never been observed (Asplanato & García-Marí, 2001;Tena et al, 2011;Vanaclocha et al, 2011). Various factors, such as specific climatic conditions or the absence of sugar food resources for A. melinus adult females at the end of the season, have been named among the potential causes explaining the different parasitoid-host dynamics (Boyero et al, 2014;Tena et al, 2011). The high diversity of natural enemies and herbivores associated with Mediterranean citrus agroecosystems is probably another main difference between our system and that presented by Murdoch et al (2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contribution of predation to the biological control of a key herbivorous pest in citrus agroecosystems

Bouvet

Urbaneja

Monzó

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Biological control has traditionally simplified the view of trophic relationships between herbivorous pests and their natural enemies in agriculture. The success or failure of this pest management strategy is still mainly attributed to the ability of a few key natural enemies to suppress the pest density. For example, successful regulation of the California red scale (Aonidiella aurantii), a key citrus pest, is generally credited to specific parasitoids of the Aphytis genus. Currently, research is revealing how herbivore regulation in agroecosystems can be alternatively achieved with a greater number of trophic associations within the system. The goals of the present study were as follows: i) to unravel species‐specific trophic links between A. aurantii and its natural enemies in citrus agroecosystems, and ii) to assess their contribution to control of A. aurantii. Predation and parasitism of this herbivorous pest were assessed through exclusion experiments. Species‐specific trophic links between this herbivorous pest and its natural enemies were studied using gut‐content analysis of field‐collected predators employing prey‐specific DNA molecular markers. Relative predation rates of the species involved in A. aurantii regulation were estimated. Predation was found to be the main biotic component of A. aurantii mortality, causing reductions of more than 75% in recently settled cohorts. Aonidiella aurantii DNA was detected in the digestive system of 11 species of predators. Generalist and stenophagous predators, mainly associated with other citrus pests such as aphids, proved to be the most important biological control agents of this pest. Complex trophic relationships, such as apparent competition between two key citrus pests, were revealed. The present study highlights the role of predation as biotic mortality factor of key pests in perennial agroecosystems, wherein it is a rich complex of indigenous or naturalized generalist predators that are primarily responsible for this mortality. The results herein presented may therefore offer another perspective on the biological control of one of the key world‐wide citrus pests, at least in those regions where specific parasitoids are not able to successfully regulate the scale populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of predation to the biological control of a key herbivorous pest in citrus agroecosystems

Bouvet

Urbaneja

Monzó

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…In the Western Mediterranean basin, the relationship between A. aurantii and A. melinus has been widely studied, but the stability in the capítulo 2 parasitoid-host system described by Murdoch et al (2005) has never been achieved (Asplanato & García-Marí, 2001;Vanaclocha et al, 2011;. Different factors such as specific climatic conditions or the absence of sugar food resources for A. melinus adult females at the end of the season have been named among the potential causes explaining this (Boyero et al, 2014;. The high diversity of natural enemies and herbivores associated to Mediterranean citrus agroecosystems is probably the other main difference between our system and that presented by Murdoch et al (2005) in which trophic relationships were strongly simplified to just one herbivore species and one natural enemy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…han impulsado la implementación de enfoques de gestión de plagas con bajo impacto como las estrategias de control biológico. En los cultivos de cítricos españoles, la estrategia de gestión integrada de plagas se han convertido en una solución para la industria citrícola que necesita responder a estas demandas del mercado internacional (Tscharntke, 2012;Urbaneja et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

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Revalorización del Complejo de Depredadores Polífagos Asociado al Cultivo de los Cítricos, Como Agentes de Control Biológico de Plagas Claves

Bouvet¹

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Revalorización del complejo de depredadores polífagos asociado al cultivo de los cítricos, como agentes de control biológico de xv abstract Predators have been considered as one of the most important groups of pest natural enemies in agroecosystems. However, their complex biology and behaviour have hindered in many cases evaluating its true role as biological control agents. Studies on predators have mostly focused on the simple relationships between specialist predators and their prey since these systems are easier to parameterize. Though, there is a growing interest in the control exerted by generalist predators owing to their ability to keep prey densities in stable equilibrium in ways not dependent on their density. The importance of predation as a biotic mortality factor of key citrus pests in systems under conservation biological control management strategies was assessed. The California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii, was used as a model pest in clementine citrus groves. Through the use of field exclusion techniques and PCR detection of prey DNA in the gut content of predators, it was found that a rich complex of indigenous and naturalized generalist and stenophagous predators are the main mortality factor of this pest.

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Overstinging by hymenopteran parasitoids causes mutilation and surplus killing of hosts

et al. 2017

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An appraisal of the regulatory role of natural enemies on target pests requires the identification of the mechanisms/traits that enhance the ability of an organism to control the density of its prey/host. After stinging herbivore hosts with their ovipositor, hymenopteran parasitoids tend to reject them without ovipositing or host-feeding. Termed pseudoparasitism, the frequency and consequences of this type of attack (hereafter oversting) have been largely disregarded in the hymenopteran parasitoid literature. We choose the parasitoids Aphytis melinus and A. chrysomphali and their common host, Aonidiella aurantii as a model system to study this behaviour. Using field and lab observations, we showed that overstinging is a common behavior in the wild. Under controlled conditions, overstinging occurred more frequently than hostfeeding, a behavioral trait that is used to evaluate the potential of parasitoids as biological control agents. Oversting reduced the fecundity and survival of the herbivore host. When we compared between parasitoid species that attack the same host species, the virulence and frequency of this behavior depended on parasitoid species. These results demonstrate that overstinging should be incorporated in the models of host-parasitoid interactions to analyze population dynamics as well as in the future selection of parasitoids for biological control.

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Displacement of Aphytis chrysomphali by Aphytis melinus, parasitoids of the California red scale, in the Iberian Peninsula

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

Contribution of predation to the biological control of a key herbivorous pest in citrus agroecosystems

Contribution of predation to the biological control of a key herbivorous pest in citrus agroecosystems

Revalorización del Complejo de Depredadores Polífagos Asociado al Cultivo de los Cítricos, Como Agentes de Control Biológico de Plagas Claves

Overstinging by hymenopteran parasitoids causes mutilation and surplus killing of hosts

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