Medfly Phenotypic Plasticity as A Prerequisite for Invasiveness and Adaptation

Lemic, Darija; Bjeliš, Mario; Ninčević, Pave; Živković, Ivana Pajač; Popović, Luka; Gašparić, Helena Virić; Benitez, Hugo A.

doi:10.3390/su132212510

Open AccessArticle

Medfly Phenotypic Plasticity as A Prerequisite for Invasiveness and Adaptation

by

Darija Lemic

^1,*

,

Mario Bjeliš

²

,

Pave Ninčević

¹,

Ivana Pajač Živković

¹

,

Luka Popović

³,

Helena Virić Gašparić

¹

and

Hugo A. Benitez

^4,*

¹

Department of Agricultural Zoology, University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetosimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

²

University Department of Marine Studies, University of Split, Ruđera Boškovića 31, 21000 Split, Croatia

³

Department for Research and Application of the SIT, Center for Plant Protection, Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food, Tisno 42, 20355 Opuzen, Croatia

⁴

Laboratorio de Ecología y Morfometría Evolutiva, Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Universidad Católica del Maule, 3460000 Talca, Chile

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12510; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212510

Submission received: 11 October 2021 / Revised: 9 November 2021 / Accepted: 10 November 2021 / Published: 12 November 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Sustainable Agroecosystems Design and Management)

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Abstract

The hypothesis of this study was that different plant hosts of the medfly Ceratitis capitata may cause variability as a prerequisite for its invasiveness. The main objective was to determine population variability based on medfly wing shape in three favorable medfly host plants (peach, fig and mandarin) from different agroecological growing areas with different pest management practices, and to evaluate phenotypic plasticity as a basis for future expansion into new areas and new hosts. Using geometric morphometric methods across 14 specific landmarks on the medfly wings, 10 populations were tested from infested peach, fig and mandarin fruits, as well as laboratory-grown sterile populations. The studies led to the following main findings: (1) all of the medfly populations that were studied exhibited sexual dimorphism in wing shape; (2) the hosts in which the medfly develops influence wing shape and condition its variability; (3) there is significant variability between laboratory mass-reared sterile and wild individuals in male and female populations; (4) a high phenotypic plasticity of medfly populations was observed along the study sites. Even the low but clearly detected variability between different agroecological conditions and localized variability indicate genotypic stability and high phenotypic plasticity, which can be considered as a prerequisite for medfly invasiveness and dispersal to new areas.

Keywords: Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann); geometric morphometrics; invasiveness; spreading potential; plasticity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Lemic, D.; Bjeliš, M.; Ninčević, P.; Živković, I.P.; Popović, L.; Gašparić, H.V.; Benitez, H.A. Medfly Phenotypic Plasticity as A Prerequisite for Invasiveness and Adaptation. Sustainability 2021, 13, 12510. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212510

AMA Style

Lemic D, Bjeliš M, Ninčević P, Živković IP, Popović L, Gašparić HV, Benitez HA. Medfly Phenotypic Plasticity as A Prerequisite for Invasiveness and Adaptation. Sustainability. 2021; 13(22):12510. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212510

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lemic, Darija, Mario Bjeliš, Pave Ninčević, Ivana Pajač Živković, Luka Popović, Helena Virić Gašparić, and Hugo A. Benitez. 2021. "Medfly Phenotypic Plasticity as A Prerequisite for Invasiveness and Adaptation" Sustainability 13, no. 22: 12510. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212510

APA Style

Lemic, D., Bjeliš, M., Ninčević, P., Živković, I. P., Popović, L., Gašparić, H. V., & Benitez, H. A. (2021). Medfly Phenotypic Plasticity as A Prerequisite for Invasiveness and Adaptation. Sustainability, 13(22), 12510. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212510

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Medfly Phenotypic Plasticity as A Prerequisite for Invasiveness and Adaptation

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