Phenological patterns of Spodoptera Guenée, 1852 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is more affected by ENSO than seasonal factors and host plant availability in a Brazilian Savanna

• Published in: International journal of biometeorology 2018-03, Vol.62 (3), p.413-422
• Main Authors: Piovesan, Mônica, Specht, Alexandre, Carneiro, Eduardo, Paula-Moraes, Silvana Vieira, Casagrande, Mirna Martins
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural practices; Animal Physiology; Availability; Biological and Medical Physics; Biophysics; Crop damage; Crop management; Earth and Environmental Science; El Nino; El Nino-Southern Oscillation event; Environment; Environmental factors; Environmental Health; Host plants; Intercropping; Meteorological parameters; Meteorology; Moon; Original Paper; Pest control; Pests; Plant Physiology; Population; Population dynamics; Rainy season; Savannahs; Southern Oscillation; Spodoptera; Statistical tests; Variation
• ISSN: 0020-7128; 1432-1254
• DOI: 10.1007/s00484-017-1450-x

The identification of factors responsible for the population dynamics is fundamental for pest management, since losses can reach 18% of annual production. Besides regular seasonal environmental factors and crop managements, additional supra-annual meteorological phenomena can also affect population dynamics, although its relevance has been rarely investigated. Among crop pests, Spodoptera stands out due to its worldwide distribution, high degree of polyphagy, thus causing damages in several crops in the world. Aiming to distinguish the relevance of different factors shaping population dynamics of Spodoptera in an ecosystem constituted of dry and rainy seasons, the current study used circular statistics to identify phenological patterns and test if its population fluctuation is driven by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) effect, seasonal meteorological parameters, and/or host plant availability. Samplings were done in an intercropping system, in the Brazilian Savanna, during the new moon cycles between July/2013 and June/2016. Species were recorded all year round, but demonstrated differently non-uniform distribution, being concentrated in different seasons of the year. Population fluctuations were mostly affected by the ENSO intensity, despite the contrasting seasonal meteorological variation or host plant availability in a 400-m radius. Studies involving the observation of supra-annual phenomena, although rare, reach similar conclusions in relation to Neotropical insect fauna. Therefore, it is paramount to have long-term sampling studies to obtain a more precise response of the pest populations towards the agroecosystem conditions.