Open AccessSpondias mombinas a reservoir of fruit fly parasitoid populations in the Eastern Amazon: an undervalued ecosystem service
Author(s) -
Maria do Socorro Miranda de Sousa,
Ezequiel de Deus,
A. L. Lima,
Cristiane Ramos de Jesus,
Salustiano Vilar da Costa Neto,
Lailson do Nascimento Lemos,
Ana Cláudia Mendes Malhado,
Richard J. Ladle,
Ricardo Adaime
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
peerj
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.927
H-Index - 70
ISSN - 2167-8359
DOI - 10.7717/peerj.11530
Subject(s) - braconidae , amazon rainforest , biology , biological pest control , ecosystem services , generalist and specialist species , parasitoid , agroforestry , ecosystem , ecology , habitat
Fruit flies are economically important pests that infest a wide variety of host trees. The environmental damage caused by traditional pesticide-based control methods has prompted scientists to seek less damaging alternatives such as biological control by native species. Parasitoids, especially Braconidae species, have excellent potential as biological control agents for fruit flies, being both generalists and well distributed geographically. Native fruit trees that support medium or high levels of these parasitoids could therefore play an important role in biological control strategies. A good potential example is Spondias mombin L. in the Brazilian Amazon, which hosts several species of fruit flies and associated parasitoids. Here, we provide a unique synthesis of over nearly two decades of data from the east Amazon, clearly demonstrating the potential of S. mombin to act as a source and reservoir of fruit fly parasitoids. This important ecosystem service (biological control) provided by the parasitoids and supported by S. mombin could be further enhanced through conservation of this plant species in its natural environment.