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Q&A ViewAttendees 8

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Section Symposium

Arthropod Pest Management in Large Scale Agroecosystems

Natural enemy response to the invasive sugarcane aphid across the sorghum agroecosystem of North America: A four region comparison

Tuesday, November 2, 2021
1:35 PM – 2:10 PM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 111-113
In-Person
Grain sorghum in North America became at risk to sugarcane aphid after its invasion onto sorghum, and there have been mixed indications of sugarcane aphid suppression by natural enemies. This system provided an opportunity to evaluate large agroecosystem sensitivity to a pest invasion and resilience in natural enemy response within a widely planted crop experiencing a range of agro-landscape features and weather. Data were collected in cultivated grain sorghum fields in four U.S. regions (Far South Great Plains extension, South Central plains, North Central plains, and South East U.S.) across five years (2015-2019). The natural enemy complex was similar across regions: two primary endoparasitoids and four of six coccinellid species were common. Syrphidae, Chrysopidae, and Hemeobiidae were also detected. In contrast to common taxa, sugarcane aphid abundance and natural enemy taxa activity (normalized by aphid abundance) varied across regions. Parasitoid and coccinellid activity were greatest in the Far South region, while average aphid abundance was relatively high in the South East region where enemy activity was less. Some cross-region contrasts of correspondence of natural enemy activity to agro-landscape features and weather conditions were observed and appeared to influence the aphid-enemy dynamics. Overall, aphid abundance was a key indicator of natural enemy activity in some, but not all regions, while agro-landscape features and weather conditions may have influenced natural enemy activity. The results support consideration of a risk model in which aphid-enemy interaction as a key indicator of agroecosystem sensitivity and resilience as moderated by weather and agro-landscape features.