Seasonal abundance of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and diversity of its parasitoids along altitudinal gradients of the eastern Afromontane

Ngowi, Benignus; Tonnang, Henri E. Z.; Khamis, Fathiya M.; Mwangi, Evans Mungai; Nyambo, B. T.; Ndegwa, Paul N.; Subramanian, Sevgan

doi:10.1007/s12600-019-00732-3

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…In addition to elevation, environmental conditions due to seasonality can affect insect communities and those of their parasitoids [ 8 ]. Unlike temperate regions where extreme winter temperatures often regulate fluctuations in insect communities, in tropical regions, temperatures remain within an ideal range for insect development throughout the year [ 81 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environmental conditions associated with higher elevation are known to influence insect communities [1]. For example, it is widely accepted that there is a decrease in the abundance and diversity of many insect groups at higher elevations, including beetles (Coleoptera) [2][3][4][5], moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) [6][7][8], wasps (Hymenoptera) [9,10], and flies (Diptera) [1,11,12]. In addition, insect communities change according to season.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The abundance and diversity of fruit flies and their parasitoids change with elevation in guava orchards in a tropical Andean forest of Peru, independent of seasonality

et al. 2021

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Lower elevations are generally thought to contain a greater abundance and diversity of insect communities and their natural enemies than higher elevations. It is less clear, however, how changes in seasons influence this pattern. We conducted a 2-year study (2013‒2014) in guava orchards located in a tropical Andean forest of Peru to investigate differences in fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and their parasitoid communities at two elevations and over two seasons. Fruit fly traps were installed, monitored, and guava fruits were sampled from eight orchards at low (800–950 m above sea level) and high (1,700–1,900 m above sea level) elevations and during the dry and rainy seasons. At each orchard, adult fruit fly trap captures and emergence of fruit flies and their parasitoids from guava fruit were quantified to determine their abundance and species composition. There was a greater abundance and species richness of fruit flies captured in traps at lower elevations, as well as higher abundance and species evenness of fruit flies that emerged from fruit, indicating that lower elevations are associated with larger fruit fly populations. The abundance, species richness and diversity of parasitoids were also greater at lower elevations. Consequently, guava fruit infestation and fruit fly parasitism rates were also greater at lower elevations. Seasonality also influenced fruit fly populations with a greater number of flies emerging from guava fruit and more fruit infested in the rainy season. However, seasonality had no effect on parasitoid population parameters or rate of parasitism, nor did it interact with elevation as an influence of populations of fruit flies or their parasitoids in guava orchards. This study highlights the importance of examining both elevation and seasonality for a better understanding of the population dynamics of fruit flies and their parasitoids in tropical agroecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The abundance and diversity of fruit flies and their parasitoids change with elevation in guava orchards in a tropical Andean forest of Peru, independent of seasonality

et al. 2021

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“…Cotesia vestalis was found to prioritise its body size and developmental time (Harvey et al, 2014;Harvey & Strand, 2002). In addition, D. semiclausum is considered to be less thermotolerant than C. vestalis; thus, warmer conditions can have more stressful impact on this species (Ngowi et al, 2019;Talekar & Yang, 1991). Plutella xylostella's end-of-life dry body mass was significantly reduced by exposure to the heatwave regime experienced during adulthood, suggesting that the moths used more stored energetic reserves than adults experiencing the reference thermal regime (Colinet et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a set of three temperatures (22°C, 27°C and 33°C) with the latter two corresponding to temperatures exceeding the 95 th percentile of temperature distribution in the Netherlands1. We expected that under 'normal' temperature conditions, D. semiclausum to be a superior extrinsic competitor to C. vestalis, although contrasting field prevalence has been reported for both species (Afiunizadeh & Karimzadeh, 2015;Ngowi et al, 2019). We also hypothesized that D. semiclausum but not C. vestalis parasitism rate will be negatively impacted by temperature above 30°C as the former is less thermotolerant than the latter (Furlong & Zalucki, 2017;Sarfraz et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They have also been successfully introduced in many temperate and tropical countries as biological control agents of P. xylostella (Furlong et al, 2013;Talekar & Shelton, 1993). It has been reported that C. vestalis has a broader host range than D. semiclausum and has a more southerly distribution in the Palearctic realm, although local distributions of these two species do overlap in many areas (Afiunizadeh & Karimzadeh, 2015;Ngowi et al, 2019;Sarfraz et al, 2005;Talekar & Shelton, 1993). An initial experiment was conducted to assess the effects of parasitoid density on both intra-and interspecific competition under a 'normal' summer temperature in the Netherlands (T max = 22°C, average for 1991-2020) 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A changing world: the role of phenotypic plasticity in host-parasitoid interactions facing extreme temperatures

Costaz

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Climate change alters many environmental parameters, such as temperature or precipitation. The alterations of these environmental parameters have strong consequences for all levels of ecological interactions, from species interactions to community dynamics. Temperature is crucial in determining ecosystem dynamics, especially for ectothermic species such as plants or insects. Phenotypic plasticity, the capacity of one genotype to produce different phenotypes in response to environmental conditions is a common mechanism by which individuals adapt to changing environments and is observed in multiple traits. In response to temperature plasticity is thermodynamically constrained at the molecular level. The capacity of genotypes to adapt to novel environmental conditions plays a crucial role in structuring ecosystem dynamics and species persistence in adverse conditions. Many studies have assessed plant and insect phenotypic plasticity responses to changing thermal conditions, either alone or with their interactions. It is well recognised that temperature in natural ecosystems fluctuates over multiple time scales (e.g., hour, day, season, year). Moreover, these fluctuations can follow predictable or unpredictable patterns, which have different consequences for phenotypic plasticity and ecosystem dynamics. Understanding how and to what extent phenotypic plasticity can track continuously changing environments and its role in structuring species' ecological niches is of utmost importance in the context of rapid climate change. This review discusses the literature on the role of phenotypic plasticity in fluctuating environments, highlighting the role of temporal dynamics. We focus on host-parasitoid interactions because of their importance in driving herbivorous insect populations and their significant representation in ecosystems. Although we discuss literature on phenotypic plasticity at large, this review emphasises the fundamental effects of extreme temperatures in driving biochemical rates underlying phenotypic plasticity.

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Temperature affects the outcome of competition between two sympatric endoparasitoids

et al. 2023

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Seasonal abundance of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and diversity of its parasitoids along altitudinal gradients of the eastern Afromontane

Cited by 5 publications

References 42 publications

The abundance and diversity of fruit flies and their parasitoids change with elevation in guava orchards in a tropical Andean forest of Peru, independent of seasonality

The abundance and diversity of fruit flies and their parasitoids change with elevation in guava orchards in a tropical Andean forest of Peru, independent of seasonality

A changing world: the role of phenotypic plasticity in host-parasitoid interactions facing extreme temperatures

Temperature affects the outcome of competition between two sympatric endoparasitoids

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