Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) as extreme distribution indicator of two neotropical fruit fly parasitoids in irrigated drylands of Argentina

NÚÑEZ CAMPERO, REGUNDO RICARDO; GONZÁLEZ, CARLOS; RULL, JUAN; OVRUSKI, SERGIO MARCELO

BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2022

0007-4853

The figitid Ganaspis pelleranoi and the braconid Doryctobracon areolatus (Hym:Braconidae, Opiinae) are wide-ranging (from Florida, USA to Argentina) fruit flyparasitoids with tropical and subtropical distribution with a wet and temperate climate.In Argentina, both parasitoid species are thought to be restricted to the subtropicalrainforests of the northwest and northeast, locally known as "Yungas" and"Paranaense" forests, respectively. However, these species recently have beenrecorded at the Monte and Thistle of the Prepuna eco-region, an arid region of central-western Argentina. Despite the extreme environmental conditions, anthropic artificialirrigation seems to be playing a fundamental role in fostering the presence andpersistence of these species. Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) models were developed toassess the suitability of these areas to harbor both species.The present work is a first approach to identify suitable areas for the distribution ofthese two fruit fly biological control agents in the American continent; based on 19Chelsa bioclimatic variables. Furthermore, the models resulting from including the newrecords in the ?Monte? eco-region suggest that local populations may become adaptedto particular micro-environmental conditions generated by artificial irrigation.Models revealed that these artificial oases are suitable for G. pelleranoi but seem tobe unsuitable for D. areolatus.This first and new approach to the area suitability of these species, invite to producemodels that reflect actual distribution including more records of presence in oases withsimilar conditions, thus decreasing the bias of the model generated by over reliance onareas with higher humidity (forest), which correspond to the distribution known beforethe inclusion of the new records.