Population‐specific demography and invasion potential in medfly

Abstract

Biological invasions are constantly gaining recognition as a significant component of global change. The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) constitutes an ideal model species for the study of biological invasions due to its (1) almost cosmopolitan geographic distribution, (2) huge economic importance, and (3) well-documented invasion history. Under a common garden experimental set up, we tested the hypothesis that medfly populations obtained from six global regions [Africa (Kenya), Pacific (Hawaii), Central America (Guatemala), South America (Brazil), Extra–Mediterranean (Portugal), and Mediterranean (Greece)] have diverged in important immature life-history traits such as preadult survival and developmental times. We also tested the hypothesis that medfly populations from the above regions exhibit different population growth rates. For this purpose, data on the life history of immatures were combined with adult survival and reproduction data derived from an earlier study in order to calculate population parameters for the above six populations. Our results clearly show that medfly populations worldwide exhibit significant differences in preadult survival, developmental rates of immatures and important population parameters such as the intrinsic rate of increase. Therefore, geographically isolated medfly populations may share different invasion potential, since population growth rates could influence basic population processes that operate mostly during the last two stages of an invasion event, such as establishment and spread. Our findings provide valuable information for designing population suppression measures and managing invasiveness of medfly populations worldwide.

The population determines whether and how life-history traits vary between reproductive events in an insect with maternal care

“…This is the case, for instance, for offspring mass and number in the scorpion Centruroides vittatus (Brown and Formanowicz 1995), for the juveniles' development and survival in the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Diamantidis et al 2011), and for the level of parental care in the Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus and the snowy plover C. nivosus (Vincze et al 2013). In earwigs, our results do not only demonstrate that each population is characterised by a specific proportion of females producing two clutches under identical (laboratory) conditions (see also Wirth et al 1998;, but also that the population determines whether and how certain life-history traits differ between initial and terminal clutches.…”

Comparative analysis of development and survival of two Natal fruit fly Ceratitis rosa Karsch (Diptera, Tephritidae) populations from Kenya and South Africa

“…The larval survivorship of R1 on the artificial diet at all temperatures was significantly higher than that of R2 and could have led to higher metabolic heat within the diet and therefore faster development. To date, little is known of the selective pressures shaping the life history of immature tephritids in geographically isolated locations (Diamantidis et al 2011a, b) and additional research focusing on the selective pressure that shape the life history of immature life stages of the different Ceratitis rosa populations is warranted.…”

Development of Phytosanitary Cold Treatments for Oranges Infested With <I>Bactrocera invadens</I> and <I>Bactrocera zonata</I> (Diptera: Tephritidae) by Comparison With Existing Cold Treatment Schedules for <I>Ceratitis capitata</I> (Diptera: Tephritidae)

“…Diamantidis et al (2011) found that geographically isolated populations of C. capitata vary in a number of traits (e.g., reproductive patterns, survival, developmental rate, and intrinsic rate of increase). From the literature, it seems that the most cold-tolerant stage for most populations of C. capitata is the third instar with the only well-documented exception being Australia.…”