Predicting the Potential Global Distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis (Hood) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) with Emphasis on the Americas Using an Ecological Niche Model.

Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is an invasive pest that is popularly known as chilli thrips. This insect pest has a wide range of hosts distributed across 72 plant families, causing damage to numerous crops of great economic importance. In the Americas, it is present in the USA, Mexico, Suriname, Venezuela, Colombia, and some Caribbean Islands. Knowing the regions which have environmentally suitable conditions for the survival of this pest is important for phytosanitary monitoring and inspection. Thus, our objective was to forecast the distribution potential of S. dorsalis with a focus on the Americas. Models were produced to design this distribution, in which the environmental variables used were made available in Wordclim version 2.1. The algorithms used for the modeling were the generalized additive model (GAM), generalized linear model (GLM), maximum entropy (MAXENT), random forest (RF), and Bioclim, in addition to the ensemble, which consisted of the grouping of the algorithms used. The metrics used to evaluate the models were area over the curve (AUC), true ability statistics (TSS), and Sorensen score. All models had satisfactory results (> 0.8) for all metrics used. In North America, the model showed favorable regions on the west coast of the USA and east coast near New York. In South America, the potential distribution of the pest is significant, encompassing regions in all countries. It is concluded that S. dorsalis has suitable areas for the occurrence in the three American subcontinents and, in particular, a large part of South America.

Genetic structure and diversity in Brazilian populations of Anastrepha obliqua (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart), the West Indian fruit fly, is one of the most economically important pest species in the Neotropical region. It infests an extensive range of host plants that include over 60 species. The geographic range of A. obliqua is from northern Mexico to southern Brazil and includes the Caribbean Islands. Previous molecular studies have revealed significant genetic structure among populations. We used sequences from a fragment of the mitochondrial protein-coding gene cytochrome c oxidase I to estimate structure and genetic diversity of A. obliqua populations from Brazil. We analyzed a total of 153 specimens from the Amazon Forest, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Caatinga biomes. Our study revealed weak genetic structure among the A. obliqua Brazilian populations sampled. Collections from the Amazon Forest had similar haplotype diversity compared to previously reported estimates for collections from the Caribbean and both populations are also closely related to each other, thus challenging the hypothesis that A. obliqua originated in the Caribbean and then moved to other regions of the Americas. Therefore, further evidence is necessary to draw a definite conclusion about the putative center of origin for A. obliqua. Additionally, we suggest a putative historical migration from the west to the east for the A. obliqua Brazilian populations, which could explain the high genetic diversity for this fly in the Amazon Forest and low genetic diversity in the other Brazilian biomes.