Abstract
Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) trees have a wide distribution in the Cerrado, and it is protected by federal laws. The need to monitor and understand pest damage to crops and forests is a major motivation for the study of population distribution. The mites (Acari) population distributions on C. brasiliense are unknown. We studied seasonal mite population distribution and their ecological indices on C. brasiliense trees in Cerrado areas during three years. Greatest number of Agistemus sp. (Stigmaeidae), Histiostoma sp. (Histiostomidae), Proctolaelaps sp. (Ascidae), and diversity and species richness on leaves of C. brasiliense occurred in the autumn; Tetranychus sp.1 (Tetranychidae) on leaves in the autumn and winter; Histiostoma sp., and Proctolaelaps sp. in fruits in the summer. No significant effect of season was observed in the abundance of Eutetranychus sp., Tetranychus sp.2 (Tetranychidae) and Acaridae. The populations of Acaridae, Eutetranychus sp., Proctolaelaps sp. and Tetranychus sp.1 negatively correlated with temperature. Proctolaelaps sp. and Tetranychus sp.1 correlated negatively with rainfall and Eutetranychus sp. and Proctolaelaps sp. positively with sunlight. The period with low rainfall and relative humidity increases the phytophagous mites and their predators, especially Agistemus sp.. The Tetranychus sp. and Histiostoma sp. species may become pests in C. brasiliense in the Cerrado domain.
Highlights
The Cerrado occupies approximately 23% of the Brazilian territory and Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) trees are widely distributed in this region (Pinheiro and Monteiro, 2010)
Caryocar brasiliense are protected under federal law in Brazil and these trees remain isolated in deforested areas, increasing vulnerability to attack by mites, such as Tetranychus sp. and Eutetranychus sp. (Tetranychidae) on leaves and Histiostoma sp. (Histiostomidae) on fruits (Leite et al, 2020)
We investigated the effect of seasons in relation to the seasonal mite population distribution and their ecological indices on C. brasiliense trees
Summary
The Cerrado occupies approximately 23% of the Brazilian territory and Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) trees are widely distributed in this region (Pinheiro and Monteiro, 2010). (Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) trees are widely distributed in this region (Pinheiro and Monteiro, 2010). Their fruits are used as food, lubricants, in the pharmaceutical industry, for the production of cosmetics and represent the main source of income of many agricultural-extractive communities (Leite et al, 2006; Moura et al, 2013). The need to monitor and understand pest damage to crops and forests is a major motivation for the study of population distributions. For this reasons the field of Arthropod population distributions has played a prominent role in the development of basic ecology and in the understanding and management of serious pests over the landscape (Price et al, 2011)
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