Spondias mombin as a reservoir of fruit fly parasitoid populations in the Eastern Amazon: an undervalued ecosystem service

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 9; p. e11530
• Main Authors: Miranda de Sousa, Maria do Socorro, de Deus, Ezequiel, Lima, Adilson Lopes, Ramos de Jesus, Cristiane, Vilar da Costa Neto, Salustiano, do Nascimento Lemos, Lailson, Mendes Malhado, Ana Claudia, Ladle, Richard J, Adaime, Ricardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego PeerJ. Ltd 04.06.2021; PeerJ, Inc; PeerJ Inc
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Anastrepha obliqua; Animal behavior; Biocontrol; Biodiversity; Biological control; Braconidae; Citrus; Citrus fruits; Conservation Biology; Doryctobracon areolatus; Ecology; Ecosystems; Entomology; Flowers & plants; Fruit trees; Fruit-flies; Indigenous species; Insects; Native species; Parasitoids; Pest; Pests; Plant Science; Reservoirs; Spondias mombin; Taperebá; Trees; Vegetation; Wildlife conservation; Brazil; Florida; Mexico
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11530

Fruit flies are economically important pests that infest a wide variety of host trees. The environmental damage caused by traditional pesticide-based control methods has prompted scientists to seek less damaging alternatives such as biological control by native species. Parasitoids, especially Braconidae species, have excellent potential as biological control agents for fruit flies, being both generalists and well distributed geographically. Native fruit trees that support medium or high levels of these parasitoids could therefore play an important role in biological control strategies. A good potential example is Spondias mombin L. in the Brazilian Amazon, which hosts several species of fruit flies and associated parasitoids. Here, we provide a unique synthesis of over nearly two decades of data from the east Amazon, clearly demonstrating the potential of S. mombin to act as a source and reservoir of fruit fly parasitoids. This important ecosystem service (biological control) provided by the parasitoids and supported by S. mombin could be further enhanced through conservation of this plant species in its natural environment.