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Temperature-dependent performance and potential distribution of Pareuchaetes insulata, a biological control agent of Chromolaena odorata in South Africa

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Abstract

Despite the release of about 1.9 million individuals of Pareuchaetes insulata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) in KwaZulu-Natal for the biological control of Chromolaena odorata (L.) King and Robinson (Asteraceae) in South Africa, the moth probably only established at one of the 30 release sites and its population level is generally low in the field. To determine whether climate incompatibility in South Africa is responsible for the poor performance of P. insulata, the effects of temperature on life-history traits were investigated under several constant temperatures. Although a degree-day model estimated between 3.9 and 10.0 generations of the moth per year in the weed’s invaded range, survival and fecundity declined while development time was prolonged at constant temperatures below 25 °C, indicating that both direct and indirect negative impacts of low winter temperatures, such as increased mortality, slow development and reduced fecundity as well as exposure to natural enemies, may partly explain the poor performance of P. insulata in South Africa.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Department of Environmental Affairs: Natural Resource Management Programmes and ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, South Africa for providing funding and facilities. The financial support given to the first author by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is acknowledged. Thanks to Sappi Forests (Mr Pemberayi Nyamande) for permission to place iButtons within Cannonbrae plantation. The South African Weather Services is thanked for providing climate data across the distribution range of C. odorata in South Africa. We thank Mr. Osaro Igbinosa of the Department of Mathematics, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, for statistical advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    Osariyekemwen O. Uyi & Martin P. Hill

  2. Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, University of Benin, P.M.B. 1154, Benin City, Nigeria

    Osariyekemwen O. Uyi

  3. ARC–Plant Protection Research Institute, Private Bag X6006, Hilton, 3245, South Africa

    Costas Zachariades

  4. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    Costas Zachariades

  5. NSW Department of Primary Industries Biosecurity, Weed Research Unit, Locked Bag 6006, Orange, NSW, 2800, Australia

    Andrew J. McConnachie

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  1. Osariyekemwen O. Uyi
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  2. Costas Zachariades
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  3. Martin P. Hill
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  4. Andrew J. McConnachie
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Correspondence to Osariyekemwen O. Uyi.

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Handling Editor: S. Raghu.

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Uyi, O.O., Zachariades, C., Hill, M.P. et al. Temperature-dependent performance and potential distribution of Pareuchaetes insulata, a biological control agent of Chromolaena odorata in South Africa. BioControl 61, 815–825 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-016-9760-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-016-9760-1

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