Temperature-dependent development and survival of an invasive genotype of wheat curl mite, Aceria tosichella

Kamila Karpicka-Ignatowska,Brian G Rector,Anna Skoracka,Lechosław Kuczyński,Alicja Laska

doi:10.1007/s10493-021-00602-w

Kamila Karpicka-Ignatowska, Brian G Rector + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-021-00602-w

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Abstract

Quantifying basic biological data, such as the effects of variable temperatures on development and survival, is crucial to predicting and monitoring population growth rates of pest species, many of which are highly invasive. One of the most globally important pests of cereals is the eriophyoid wheat curl mite (WCM), Aceria tosichella, which is the primary vector of several plant viruses. The aim of this study was to evaluate temperature-dependent development and survival of WCM at a wide range of constant temperatures in the laboratory (17–33 °C). The development time of each stage depended significantly on temperature and it was negatively correlated with temperature increase. At high temperatures (27–33 °C), individuals had shorter developmental times, with the shortest (6 days) at 33 °C, whereas at the lowest tested temperatures (17–19 °C), developmental time was almost 3× longer. Moreover, temperature had a clear effect on survival: the higher the temperature, the lower the survival rate. These data provide information promoting more efficient and effective manipulation of WCM laboratory colonies, and further our understanding of the ramifications of temperature change on WCM physiology and implications for the growth and spread of this globally invasive pest.

Highlights

Basic biological data, such as the effect of variable temperature on development, survival, and reproduction, are especially crucial for predicting and monitoring population growth rates of pest species, many of which are highly invasive
In the final model, sex was excluded, and the only predictor remaining in this model was temperature, which had a clear effect on survival: the higher the temperature, the lower the survival rate (GAM results: λ2 = 84.5, edf = 2.4, p < 0.0001, n = 275; Fig. 2)
In addition to being an economically important pest species, wheat curl mite (WCM) is the de facto model for the study of Eriophyoidea, due to the relative ease with which it can be collected from the field, on at least four continents (Carew et al 2009; Skoracka et al 2012, 2014b, 2018a; Miller et al 2013; Karpicka-Ignatowska et al 2019; Khalaf et al 2020), and with which it can be cultured in the laboratory (e.g., Karpicka-Ignatowska et al 2019), as well as its well-documented genetic and physiological diversity

Summary

Introduction

Basic biological data, such as the effect of variable temperature on development, survival, and reproduction, are especially crucial for predicting and monitoring population growth rates of pest species, many of which are highly invasive. The establishment of invasive species depends on their ability to reach new areas and the environmental conditions they encounter in new sites, including ambient temperatures. Environmental changes, such as elevated temperatures may increase the suitability of a given region to invaders from warmer climates (Walther et al 2009). Increasing temperatures in particular may influence the development time and survival of pests and invasive species, allowing them to rapidly reach adult stages and produce offspring in a shorter time (Hanselmann et al 2011; Salum et al 2014; Ju et al 2015, 2017; Xie et al 2018).

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