MAXIMUM ENTROPY (MAXENT) AS EXTREME DISTRIBUTION INDICATOR OF TWO NEOTROPICAL FRUIT FLY PARASITOIDS IN IRRIGATED DRYLANDS OF ARGENTINA

NÚÑEZ CAMPERO, SEGUNDO RICARDO; GONZÁLEZ CARLOS ANDRÉS; RULL GABAYET, JUAN ANTONIO; OVRUSKI, SERGIO MARCELO

BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2022 p. 1 - 10

0007-4853

The figitid Aganaspis pelleranoi and the braconid Doryctobracon areolatus (Hym: Braconidae, Opiinae) are wide-ranging (from Florida, USA to Argentina) fruit fly parasitoids with tropical and subtropical distribution, with a wet and temperate climate. However, these species recently have been recorded at the Monte and Thistle of the Prepuna eco-region, a desert region of central-western Argentina. Despite the extreme environmental conditions, anthropic artificial irrigation seems to be playing a fundamental role in fostering the presence and persistence of these species. Maximum Entropy (Maxent) models were developed to assess these oases´ suitability to harbour these species. Moreover, these models contrasting with others defined only by the known distribution so far. The present work contributes to the first approach to the suitable distribution areas of these two fruit fly biological control agents in America. The presence of these species in the ´monte´ eco-region suggest that local populations may become adapted to that particular micro-environmental conditions, but to produce models that reflect actual distribution should be necessary to corroborate the presence of these species in oases with similar conditions, thus decreasing the bias of the model by areas with higher humidity, which correspond to the distribution known until now.