Departamento de Agronomia - Entomologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil.
Departamento de Zoologia - Centro de Biociência, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Moraes Rego, Recife, PE, 50670-420, Brazil.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2023 Jun;90(1-2):19-31. doi: 10.1007/s10493-023-00806-2. Epub 2023 Jun 15.
The meristematic region of Cocos nucifera fruits can be colonized by various species of mites, including Steneotarsonemus concavuscutum, Steneotarsonemus furcatus, and Aceria guerreronis. The consequence of this colonization is the development of necrotic lesions on the fruit, and sometimes its abortion. Losses are commonly attributed to A. guerreronis alone, owing to the similarities in the injuries caused and its predominance in coconut plantations. However, S. concavuscutum may be the predominant pest species in some crops. Despite the possible impact of S. concavuscutum, little is known about its bioecological aspects, such as the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on its population dynamics. Our objective was to document macroclimatic abiotic factors (temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation) and biotic factors (interspecific competition and predation) interfere in the population dynamics of S. concavuscutum. We evaluated the diversity and abundance of mites in the perianth of coconut fruit naturally infested by S. concavuscutum for 1 year. The species found in the fruits of bunch 6 of the plant, which is the fruit age at which the mites commonly reach the highest abundance, were counted every 2 weeks. We found mites from nine families and S. concavuscutum was the predominant species, representing about 92% of the individuals collected. Predators represented approximately 2% of the total collection, with Neoseiulus baraki as the predominant species. Steneotarsonemus concavuscutum population density ranged from 60 to 397 mites/fruit. The highest population densities of S. concavuscutum were observed in the hottest and driest periods of the year. The population densities of S. concavuscutum were negatively associated with the presence of N. baraki, suggesting that this predator may have a role in the biological control of this pest.
椰果实生区可被多种螨类定殖，包括凹刻短须螨、弯茎短须螨和榕蛎盾螨。这种定殖的后果是果实上出现坏死性损伤，有时甚至导致果实败育。通常认为榕蛎盾螨是造成这些损失的唯一原因，因为其造成的损伤与其他螨类相似，且在椰子种植园中最为常见。然而，在某些作物中，凹刻短须螨可能是主要的虫害物种。尽管凹刻短须螨可能产生影响，但人们对其生物生态方面的了解甚少，例如生物和非生物因素对其种群动态的影响。我们的目标是记录非生物因素（温度、相对湿度和降水）和生物因素（种间竞争和捕食）对凹刻短须螨种群动态的影响。我们评估了自然感染凹刻短须螨的椰果外冠层中螨类的多样性和丰度，为期 1 年。对第 6 束果中发现的物种进行计数，这是螨类通常达到最高丰度的果实年龄，每 2 周统计一次。我们发现了来自 9 个科的螨类，其中凹刻短须螨是优势种，占收集到的个体的约 92%。捕食者约占总采集量的 2%，其中巴氏新小绥螨是优势种。凹刻短须螨种群密度范围为 60-397 头/果。该螨的最高种群密度出现在一年中最热和最干燥的时期。凹刻短须螨的种群密度与巴氏新小绥螨的存在呈负相关，表明这种捕食者可能在该虫害的生物防治中发挥作用。
