Thesis
Nutritional requirements and survival of Drosophila suzukii: tests of host suitability, host preference, and interspecific competition with other Drosophila spp
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2012
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101712
Abstract
Spotted wing drosophila, D. suzukii an Asian vinegar fly, was introduced into the mainland United States in 2008. Females have a serrated ovipositor which allows it to oviposit into agriculturally diverse fruit crops becoming a dangerous pest. However, it was not known if D. suzukii females would oviposit into unripe fruits and if they would survive. In order to recommend suitable pest management strategies to control D. suzukii populations, a better understanding was needed of their fruit host preferences, nutrition, oviposition behaviors, and competitive ability. First, I tested the hypothesis that D. suzukii would oviposit and develop successfully in unripe and ripening fruits using their serrated ovipositor to saw through the fruit skin and deposit their eggs. Second, I tested the hypothesis that D. suzukii will develop on artificial diets mimicking unripe ‘Muscat Hamburg’ grapes. Third, D. suzukii has an advantage by being present in the fruit early, my hypothesis was that D. melanogaster would out compete D. suzukii because it lays over twice as many eggs that develop faster than D. suzukii larvae. To address these questions I conducted a series of experiments both in the laboratory and in the field. I found that D. suzukii prefer to oviposit into ripe or overripe fruits including v sweet cherries, table and wine grapes, and blackberries except for cranberries. In all of these cases, females would oviposit into unripe fruits but preferred fruit to be wounded and either ripe or overripe. Furthermore, I manipulated the nutritional requirements of D. suzukii during grape maturity in artificial diet experiments. Interestingly, only the experiments that mimicked unripe grapes resulted in significant differences in fly body size. Finally, interspecific competition between D. suzukii and D. melanogaster was tested in fruit hosts and artificial diets. In almost all of the tests, D. melanogaster out competed D. suzukii but it depended on larvae density and the fruit host. In conclusion, although D. suzukii is a threat to a diversity of agriculturally important fruit crops including sweet cherries and grapes in Washington and Oregon, it is not expected to be a threat to unripe fruit.
Metrics
8 File views/ downloads
24 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Nutritional requirements and survival of Drosophila suzukii
- Creators
- Auriel-Robert Vilaire
- Contributors
- Laura C. Lavine (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Entomology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525142401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis