The current and future potential geographical distribution of the oriental fruit fly,Bactrocera dorsalis(Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a major pest throughout South East Asia and in a number of Pacific Islands. As a result of their widespread distribution, pest status, invasive ability and potential impact on market access, B. dorsalis and many other fruit fly species are considered major threats to many countries. CLIMEX was used to model the potential global distribution of B. dorsalis under current and future climate scenarios. Under current climatic conditions, its projected potential distribution includes much of the tropics and subtropics and extends into warm temperate areas such as southern Mediterranean Europe. The model projects optimal climatic conditions for B. dorsalis in the south-eastern USA, where the principle range-limiting factor is likely to be cold stress. As a result of climate change, the potential global range for B. dorsalis is projected to extend further polewards as cold stress boundaries recede. However, the potential range contracts in areas where precipitation is projected to decrease substantially. The significant increases in the potential distribution of B. dorsalis projected under the climate change scenarios suggest that the World Trade Organization should allow biosecurity authorities to consider the effects of climate change when undertaking pest risk assessments. One of the most significant areas of uncertainty in climate change concerns the greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. Results are provided that span the range of standard Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios. The impact on the projected distribution of B. dorsalis is striking, but affects the relative abundance of the fly within the total suitable range more than the total area of climatically suitable habitat.

Pest risk assessment and additional evidence provided by South Africa on Guignardia citricarpa Kiely, citrus black spot fungus - CBS - Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Plant Health

“…• Thresholds of climatic suitability for the EI are arbitrary and species specific and therefore need to be set by the author (Stephens et al, 2007). An EI threshold of 4 for climatic suitability for establishment is based on the absence of CBS in the south-western part of Western Cape Province and inland New South Wales.…”

Characterization and evaluation of microsatellite markers in a strain of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae), with a genetic sexing character used in sterile insect population control

“…Its geographical distribution is expanding in tropical and subtropical regions from Asia to a potentially much larger range (CABI/EPPO, 1998). The oriental fruit fly is invasive due to its apparent wide host range, high fecundity, dispersal capacity, and bioclimatic adaptive abilities (Aketarawong et al, 2007;Stephens et al, 2007). Integrated pest management (IPM) of the oriental fruit fly coordinates the use of pest and environmental information and available pest control methods to prevent economic losses whilst hopefully reducing negative effects to the environment.…”

Robust cropping systems to tackle pests under climate change. A review

“…In-depth ecological knowledge about both pests and their natural enemies in the country of origin may help toward better preparedness and to develop more robust cropping systems. This may apply to both already introduced pests and vectored diseases such as Tuta absoluta (Desneux et al 2010;Zappalà et al 2013), B. tabaci (Tahiri et al 2006), tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), Plutella xylostella, and its parasitoids (Sarfraz et al 2005), and to potential invasive species such as Bactrocera fruit flies (Stephens et al 2007). Robust cropping systems were already developed and tested in the tropics against a range of such pests (Licciardi et al 2008;Vayssieres et al 2009).…”