Thermal tolerance of the biological control agent Neolema abbreviata and its potential geographic distribution together with its host Tradescantia fluminensis in South Africa

Chidawanyika, Frank; Chikowore, Gerald; Mutamiswa, Reyard

doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2020.104315

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 61 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Curiously, we found that G. vachoni has a wide thermal tolerance range (close to 43 ∘ C) higher than reported for other ectotherms (Taucare-Rios et al, 2018;Cabezas-Cartes et al, 2019;Chidawanyika et al, 2020). Also, the thermal performance breadth (B 80 ) was wider than reported for other ectotherms (Bonino et al, 2015;Alés et al, 2018;Cabezas-Cartes et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 42%

Warming is here: using locomotor performance to infer thermal parameters and vulnerability for an endemic Argentinean tarantula Grammostola vachoni

Schwerdt‍

Villalobos

Ferretti

2020

Ecological Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Because of global climate change and its consequences, estimating the physiological responses of ectothermicorganisms to temperature is of high priority. The thermal increase and changes in fire frequency are some of the consequences of global warming, which could challenge the physiological performance and thermal tolerance of individuals.2. The present study estimates the thermal parameters from field individuals of the tarantula Grammostola vachoni. To achieve this, we determined the critical thermal limits for locomotor performance, the thermal optimum, and the preferred temperatures. We also calculate the thermal performance breadth and thermal tolerance zone.3. Temperature strongly affected the locomotor performance of spiders; the sprint speeds were significantly different between temperatures, and at 5 ∘ C and 25 ∘ C the parameter was significantly different between females and juveniles. The preferred temperature showed a mean value of 26.5 ∘ C, and females preferred lower temperature than juveniles. Grammostola vachoni showed a wide thermal tolerance range (close to 43 ∘ C) and thermal performance breadth (B 80 ), an index defined as the range of temperatures at which performance is at least 80% of the maximum.4. For G. vachoni, these large breadths in the sprint speed represent a substantial buffer against future increases in habitat temperature and shows that the locomotor performance of this species is an adaptable parameter. Understanding the impact of warming in performances is important to make predictions about if this species can remain ecologically viable while facing global change, given the massive worldwide declines in arthropod populations.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 42%

Warming is here: using locomotor performance to infer thermal parameters and vulnerability for an endemic Argentinean tarantula Grammostola vachoni

Schwerdt‍

Villalobos

Ferretti

2020

Ecological Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…5 Most parasitoid species rely on plant chemical cues to locate their hosts, but their activity can be altered by temperature stress resulting in reduced parasitoid recruitment and parasitism rates. 5,8,58 In addition, high temperatures can negatively influence parasitoid efficacy through top-down effects, for example by impacting behavioural activities such as flying and foraging. 8,58 Although all stemborer and parasitoid species tested here showed a decrease in WT values from the current climatic conditions to the 2050s, both Cotesia parasitoids exhibited a greater reduction in WT than their host stemborer species, suggesting increased chances of deleterious effects during extreme weather events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5,8,58 In addition, high temperatures can negatively influence parasitoid efficacy through top-down effects, for example by impacting behavioural activities such as flying and foraging. 8,58 Although all stemborer and parasitoid species tested here showed a decrease in WT values from the current climatic conditions to the 2050s, both Cotesia parasitoids exhibited a greater reduction in WT than their host stemborer species, suggesting increased chances of deleterious effects during extreme weather events. Although southern Africa is projected to be warmer and drier, 50,51,54 there is a higher likelihood of more stress exposure for parasitoids relative to their hosts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Warming tolerance, regarded as a measure of an insect's sensitivity to climate warming was calculated using standardized methods, and derived from our CT max values 54,58 . The mean temperature of the warmest ( T max ) quarter for both current and 2050 climate scenarios was downloaded from WorldClim (https://www.worldclim.org/data/bioclim.html) version 2.1 59 and mapped over the national boundary map for southern Africa in ArcGIS version 10.3 (ESRI).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Biogeography of cereal stemborers and their natural enemies: forecasting pest management efficacy under changing climate

Mutamiswa

Chikowore

Nyamukondiwa

et al. 2022

Pest Management Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Climate warming presents physiological challenges to insects, manifesting as loss of key life‐history fitness traits and survival. For interacting host–parasitoid species, physiological responses to heat stress may vary, thereby potentially uncoupling trophic ecological relationships. Here, we assessed heat tolerance traits and sensitivity to prevailing and future maximum temperatures for the cereal stemborer pests, Chilo partellus, Busseola fusca and Sesamia calamistis and their endo‐parasitoids, Cotesia sesamiae and Cotesia flavipes. We further used the machine learning algorithm, Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), to model current and potential distribution of these species. Results The mean critical thermal maxima (CTmax) ranged from 39.5 ± 0.9°C to 44.6 ± 0.6°C and from 46.8 ± 0.7°C to 48.5 ± 0.9°C for parasitoids and stemborers, with C. sesamiae and Ch. partellus exhibiting the lowest and highest CTmax respectively. From the current climate to the 2050s scenario, parasitoids recorded a significant reduction in warming tolerance compared with their hosts. Habitat suitability for all stemborer–parasitoid species was spatially heterogeneous under current and future climatic scenarios. Cotesia sesamiae C. flavipes and B. fusca exhibited significant habitat loss, whereas Ch. partellus and S. calamistis showed a significant habitat gain under future 2050s predictions. Model metrics based on mean area under the curve ranged from 0.72 to 0.84 for all species, indicating a good predictive performance of the models. Conclusion These results suggest C. sesamiae and C. flavipes may face survival constraints or extirpation compared with their pest hosts when environmental temperature reaches their upper thermal limits earlier, likely reducing pest regulation through density‐mediated effects. The results demonstrate potential destabilization of stemborer–parasitoid trophic systems potentially compromising biocontrol efficacy under climate warming. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

show abstract

“…Furthermore, Byrne et al [79] identified a climate mismatch between the original collection location of G. spadicea in the weed's native range in South America and the introduced Highveld region. Chidawanyika et al [123] used MaxEnt [124] to generate projections of the current and future distributions of Tradescantia fluminensis Vell., and empirically-derived estimates of mean critical thermal limits of its agent Neolema abbreviata (Lacordaire) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to examine the likelihood of N. abbreviata to spread across the invaded range of the weed. Their predicted distribution confirmed that no climatic mismatch exists between the two and that T. fluminensis would likely spread further in the introduced range.…”

Section: Mechanistic Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Mismatch between Introduced Biological Control Agents and Their Invasive Host Plants: Improving Biological Control of Tropical Weeds in Temperate Regions

Harms

Knight

Pratt

et al. 2021

Insects

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many weed biological control programs suffer from large-scale spatial variation in success due to restricted distributions or abundances of agents in temperate climates. For some of the world’s worst aquatic weeds, agents are established but overwintering conditions limit their survival in higher latitudes or elevations. The resulting need is for new or improved site- or region-specific biological control tools. Here, we review this challenge with a focus on low-temperature limitations of agents and propose a roadmap for improving success. Investigations across spatial scales, from global (e.g., foreign exploration), to local (selective breeding), to individual organisms (molecular modification), are discussed. A combination of traditional (foreign) and non-traditional (introduced range) exploration may lead to the discovery and development of better-adapted agent genotypes. A multivariate approach using ecologically relevant metrics to quantify and compare cold tolerance among agent populations is likely required. These data can be used to inform environmental niche modeling combined with mechanistic modeling of species’ fundamental climate niches and life histories to predict where, when, and at what abundance agents will occur. Finally, synthetic and systems biology approaches in conjunction with advanced modern genomics, gene silencing and gene editing technologies may be used to identify and alter the expression of genes enhancing cold tolerance, but this technology in the context of weed biological control has not been fully explored.

show abstract

Thermal tolerance of the biological control agent Neolema abbreviata and its potential geographic distribution together with its host Tradescantia fluminensis in South Africa

Cited by 16 publications

References 61 publications

Warming is here: using locomotor performance to infer thermal parameters and vulnerability for an endemic Argentinean tarantula Grammostola vachoni

Warming is here: using locomotor performance to infer thermal parameters and vulnerability for an endemic Argentinean tarantula Grammostola vachoni

Biogeography of cereal stemborers and their natural enemies: forecasting pest management efficacy under changing climate

Climate Mismatch between Introduced Biological Control Agents and Their Invasive Host Plants: Improving Biological Control of Tropical Weeds in Temperate Regions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About