Abstract
BackgroundAttributes of pest species like host range are frequently reported as being evolutionarily constrained and showing phylogenetic signal. Because these attributes in turn could influence the abundance and impact of species, phylogenetic information could be useful in predicting the likely status of pests. In this study, we used regional (China) and global datasets to investigate phylogenetic patterns in occurrence patterns and host ranges of spider mites, which constitute a pest group of many cropping systems worldwide.ResultsWe found significant phylogenetic signal in relative abundance and distribution range both at the regional and global scales. Relative abundance and range size of spider mites were positively correlated with host range, although these correlations became weaker after controlling for phylogeny.ConclusionsThe results suggest that pest impacts are evolutionarily constrained. Information that is easily obtainable – including the number of known hosts and phylogenetic position of the mites – could therefore be useful in predicting future pest risk of species.
Highlights
Attributes of pest species like host range are frequently reported as being evolutionarily constrained and showing phylogenetic signal
Phylogenetic signal of pest occurrence In our field survey, twelve spider mite taxa were found from 318 populations at 180 sites (Fig. 1, see Additional file 1: Table S1), which included 7596 samples
Ten species of spider mites belonged to Tetranychus, one species belonged to Panonychus and one species belonged to Amphitetranychus
Summary
Attributes of pest species like host range are frequently reported as being evolutionarily constrained and showing phylogenetic signal Because these attributes in turn could influence the abundance and impact of species, phylogenetic information could be useful in predicting the likely status of pests. Species’ performance is often determined by traits that show a strong tendency to take similar values among closely related species [18], including host plant range [24] and thermal resistance [35] These traits in turn are likely to alter the demographic characteristics of species and link to species distribution and abundance ([25, 32]) which in turn are expected to
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