The biological invasion of Corythucha ciliata (Hemiptera: Tingidae) in Portugal...

• Author(s): Pinto, M. Alice ; Almeida, Mónica ; Gonçalves, Ana ; Santos, Sónia A.P. ; Azevedo, João
• Date: 2009
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/3815
• Origin: Biblioteca Digital do IPB
• Subject(s): Biological invasion; Lace bug; Maxent; Niche Model
• Document Type: Conference Object
• Language: English

Description

Corythucha ciliata is native to North America and has been introduced into Europe, through Italy, in 1964. Since then it has expanded across Europe being its date of arrival and distribution in Portugal unknown. This pest feeds on the underside of the leaves of sycamore trees (one of the most widespread ornamental tree in urban areas of Portugal) causing their premature senescence and death, in case of consecutive severe infestations. Habitat modeling is becoming an increasingly important tool for managing biological invasions, either prior or after the introduction of the invasive species. The models can be used to proactively assess the threat before introduction or, once the organism is introduced, to develop measures to stop or slow down dispersal. In this study we used the software Maxent (maximum entropy) to model the distribution of C. ciliata in its Portuguese invasive range. As input, we used a set of environmental variables, as well as a set of georeferenced occurrence locations.