TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular identification of predation on the Dubas bug (Hemiptera:Tropiduchidae) in Oman date palms
T2 - density-dependent response to prey
AU - Athey, Kacie J.
AU - Chapman, Eric G.
AU - Al-Khatri, Salem
AU - Moktar, Abdel Moneim
AU - Obrycki, John J.
N1 - We thank Anwar Yousuf Al-Busaidi, Mohammed Salim Al-Aufi, Husam Said Al-Hinai, and Mohammad Mosaraf Hossain of the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries of the Sultanate of Oman and Matthew Savage of the University of Kentucky for their long hours in the field\u2014without their knowledge of field sites and hard work, the fieldwork would not have been possible. We thank Dr. Jamin Dreyer and Dr. Michael Sitvarin for their early work on this project while both were at the University of Kentucky. We thank John M. Leavengood, Jr. (USDA-Aphis, Tampa, FL, USA) for the identification of the lady beetle Pharoscymnus flexibilis and help with the identification of Coleoptera collected for primer specificity testing. We thank Dr. Michael Sharkey for identifying Hymenoptera for primer testing. We thank Dr. Gavin Svenson (Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, USA) for the identification of the praying mantis Nilomantis floweri. We thank the Research Council of Oman for making this study possible (contract number TRC/SRG/DB/13/005).
We thank the Research Council of Oman for making this study possible (contract number TRC/SRG/DB/13/005).
PY - 2024/7/1
Y1 - 2024/7/1
N2 - The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) (Arecales: Arecaceae) is the most economically important crop in Oman with an annual production of >360,000 tons of fruit. The Dubas bug (Ommatissus lybicus de Bergevin) (Hemiptera: Tropiduchidae) is one of the major pests of date palms, causing up to a 50% reduction in fruit production. Across the course of 2 seasons, a variety of arthropod predators living in the date palm canopy were investigated for possible biological control of Dubas bugs, given the growing interest in nonchemical insect pest control in integrated pest management. We collected ~6,900 arthropod predators directly from date palm fronds from 60 Omani date palm plantations and tested them for Dubas bug predation using PCR-based molecular gut content analysis. We determined that ≥56 species of arthropod predators feed on the Dubas bug. We found that predatory mites, ants, and the entire predator community combined showed a positive correlation between predation detection frequency and increasing Dubas bug density. Additionally, there was a significant impact of season on gut content positives, with the spring season having a significantly higher percentage of predators testing positive for Dubas bug, suggesting this season could be the most successful time to target conservation biological control programs utilizing a diverse suite of predators.
AB - The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) (Arecales: Arecaceae) is the most economically important crop in Oman with an annual production of >360,000 tons of fruit. The Dubas bug (Ommatissus lybicus de Bergevin) (Hemiptera: Tropiduchidae) is one of the major pests of date palms, causing up to a 50% reduction in fruit production. Across the course of 2 seasons, a variety of arthropod predators living in the date palm canopy were investigated for possible biological control of Dubas bugs, given the growing interest in nonchemical insect pest control in integrated pest management. We collected ~6,900 arthropod predators directly from date palm fronds from 60 Omani date palm plantations and tested them for Dubas bug predation using PCR-based molecular gut content analysis. We determined that ≥56 species of arthropod predators feed on the Dubas bug. We found that predatory mites, ants, and the entire predator community combined showed a positive correlation between predation detection frequency and increasing Dubas bug density. Additionally, there was a significant impact of season on gut content positives, with the spring season having a significantly higher percentage of predators testing positive for Dubas bug, suggesting this season could be the most successful time to target conservation biological control programs utilizing a diverse suite of predators.
KW - DNA barcoding
KW - food web
KW - gut content analysis
KW - integrated pest management
KW - seasonality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203613960&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85203613960&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jisesa/ieae088
DO - 10.1093/jisesa/ieae088
M3 - Article
C2 - 39243221
AN - SCOPUS:85203613960
SN - 1536-2442
VL - 24
JO - Journal of Insect Science
JF - Journal of Insect Science
IS - 4
M1 - ieae088
ER -