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Global Potential Distribution of the South American Cutworm Pest Agrotis robusta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
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Abstract

Invasive pest species can represent significant losses to the agricultural economy of a country. Assessing the potential distribution of known pest species could be an important tool to evaluate possible invasive threats globally. Agrotis robusta (Blanchard) is an endemic species of temperate areas of South America considered an important pest of seedlings of sunflower, dry bean, and potatoes. The polyphagous habit of A. robusta, along with its regional importance and history of misidentifications, makes it a species of concern for other regions of the world. In this work, we assessed the potential distribution of A. robusta with Maxent based on occurrence data and variables related to climate and soil. The bioclimate profile of the species showed a marked seasonality and medium average monthly temperature, coinciding with the temperate climate of the Köppen-Geiger classification. Other important variables related to the species distribution included average solar radiation and soil pH. Suitable conditions were identified in North America, Central America, Europe, Southern Africa, Asia, and Australia. High suitable places overlapped with some of the most important countries of production of host crops of A. robusta. Our conclusions highlight the importance of taking this species into account when importing goods from countries with the presence of A. robusta, especially for countries that are important producers of host crops.

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All data and materials as well as software application support our published claims and comply with field standards.

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All software used is available free of charge. No custom code or algorithm has been used in this study.

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Acknowledgements

G.S.B. and G. O. thank the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UNLPam) for providing workspace and equipment. F.M.S.D. thanks for post-doctoral fellowships provided by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – CAPES (Edital Capes-Embrapa 15/2014—Proposta 92 and PNPD/CAPES – PGENTO/UFPR) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq (processo 409084/2017-4). G.S.B. thanks the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT-2016-0588 and PICT-2017-3074), the Universidad Nacional de La Pampa (POIRE-2016-17); A.S. thanks the CNPq (403376/2013-0) and Embrapa (SEG MP2 02.13.14.006.00.00) and to CNPq for scientific productivity fellowship (312901/2020-8) for financial support. A.S. is also grateful to ICMBio—MMA, for the Authorizations for Scientific Activities in Brazil (SISBIO 48218-3 and 38547/6).

Funding

G.S.B. thanks the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT-2016–0588 and PICT-2017–3074), the Universidad Nacional de La Pampa (POIRE-2016–17); A.S. thanks the CNPq (403376/2013–0) and Embrapa (SEG MP2 02.13.14.006.00.00), and to CNPq for scientific productivity fellowship (312901/2020–8) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa (INCITAP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina

    Germán San Blas & Gisella Obholz

  2. Lab de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical, Depto de Zoologia, Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil

    Fernando Maia Silva Dias, Mirna Martins Casagrande & Olaf Hermann Hendrik Mielke

  3. McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Fernando Maia Silva Dias, Mirna Martins Casagrande & Olaf Hermann Hendrik Mielke

  4. Departamento de Biologia Animal E Vegetal, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

    Fernando Maia Silva Dias

  5. Embrapa Cerrados, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil

    Alexandre Specht

Authors
  1. Germán San Blas
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  2. Gisella Obholz
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  3. Fernando Maia Silva Dias
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  4. Alexandre Specht
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  5. Mirna Martins Casagrande
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  6. Olaf Hermann Hendrik Mielke
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Contributions

Conceptualization: G. San Blas; data collection: F.M.S. Dias, G. San Blas; methodology: G. Obholz, G. San Blas; writing: G. San Blas, F.M.S. Dias, A. Specht, M.M. Casagrande, O.H.H. Mielke, G. Obholz.

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Correspondence to Germán San Blas.

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San Blas, G., Obholz, G., Dias, F.M.S. et al. Global Potential Distribution of the South American Cutworm Pest Agrotis robusta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Neotrop Entomol 51, 188–198 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-021-00930-x

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