Phylogenetic signals in pest abundance and distribution range of spider mites

Abstract

Background: Attributes of pest species like host range are frequently reported as being evolutionarily constrained and showing phylogenetic signal. Because these attributes in turn could influence the abundance and impact of species, phylogenetic information could be useful in predicting the likely status of pests. In this study, we used regional (China) and global datasets to investigate phylogenetic patterns in occurrence patterns and host ranges of spider mites, which constitute a pest group of many cropping systems worldwide.

Results: We found significant phylogenetic signal in relative abundance and distribution range both at the regional and global scales. Relative abundance and range size of spider mites were positively correlated with host range, although these correlations became weaker after controlling for phylogeny.

Conclusions: The results suggest that pest impacts are evolutionarily constrained. Information that is easily obtainable - including the number of known hosts and phylogenetic position of the mites - could therefore be useful in predicting future pest risk of species.

Keywords: Host range; Pest occurrence; Phylogenetic signal; Spider mite.

Fig. 1

Sampling information in China. All spider mite sample derive a long filed survey from our lab. Sample sites with different population size and species composition structure were plotted on a base map using ERSI ArcGIS (ArcMap 10.2.2, Redlands, CA, USA). Circles with different colors represent the species composition at each site. Circle size represents the sample numbers at each site., Abbreviations: Tur, Tetranychus urticae (red form); Tug, T. urticae (green form); Ttr, T. truncatus; Tpu, T. pueraricola; Tpi, T. piercei; Tph, T. phaselus; Tma, T. macfarlanei; Tlu, T. ludeni; Tka, T. kanzawai; Tev, T. evansi; Pci, Panonychus citri; Avi, Amphitetranychus viennensis

Fig. 2

Relationships between the species occurrence patterns and genetic distance to the focal species. a Genetic distance vs. relative abundance (total number of occurrence) for China dataset; b Genetic distance vs. latitudinal span for China dataset; c Genetic distance vs. records number of occurrence for global dataset; d Genetic distance vs. distribution for global dataset. Values of relative abundance, global records number of occurrence and global distribution (number of countries) were log transformed. Different genara are indicated by different colours and symbols

Fig. 3

Relationships between the host range (host family number) and species occurrence patterns. a Host range vs. relative abundance (total number of occurrence) for China dataset; b Host range vs. latitudinal span for China dataset; c Host range vs. records number of occurrence for global dataset; d Host range vs. global distribution (number of countries). Values of relative abundance, host range, global records number of occurrence and global distribution were log transformed

Fig. 4

Phylogeny of Tetranychidae, and species occurrence and host range a global scale. a Phylogenetic tree inferred from three combined DNA fragments (COI, 18S and 28S) in RaxmlGUI1.3. The circles shown next to the branches are from the ancestral trait reconstruction calculated using maximum likelihood methods for host famliy number (HF). Values (log transformed) were represeented by the circle size; b Heatmap of occurrence of records number (NOC), number of distributed countries (DC) and number of host families (HF). Data were log transformed and scaled to the 0–1 range for organizing the heat map