title: Seasonality of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) on Terceira and Sao Jorge Islands, Azores, Portugal.
abstract: Population dynamics studies are very important for any area-wide control program as they provide detailed knowledge about the relationship of Medfly [Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann)] life cycle with host availability and abundance. The main goal of this study is to analyse seasonality of C. capitata in Terceira and Sao Jorge Islands (Azores archipelago) using field and laboratory data collected during (2010-2014) CABMEDMAC (MAC/3/A163) project. The results from Sao Jorge Island indicate significantly lower male/female ratio than on Terceira Island. This is an important finding specially regarding when stablishing the scenario parameters for a sterile insect technique application in each island. The population dynamics of C. capitata are generally linked with host fruit availability and abundance. However, on Terceira Island fruit infestation levels are not synchronized with the trap counts. For example, there was Medfly infestations in some fruits [e.g., Solanum mauritianum (Scop.)] while in the nearby traps there were no captures at the same time. From this perspective, it is important to denote the importance of wild invasive plants, on the population dynamics of C. capitata, as well important to consider the possibility of having different densities of traps according to the characteristics of each area in order to improve the network of traps surveillance's sensitivity on Terceira Island.
authors.affiliation: Azorean Biodiversity Group (GBA, CITA-A) and Platform for Enhancing Ecological Research and Sustainability (PEERS), Universidade dos Açores, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores 9700-042, Portugal reinaldo.ms.pimentel@uac.pt.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pimentel
authors.affiliation: Azorean Biodiversity Group (GBA, CITA-A) and Platform for Enhancing Ecological Research and Sustainability (PEERS), Universidade dos Açores, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores 9700-042, Portugal.
authors.forename: D J H
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia de Biossistemas, Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Tapada da Ajuda.
authors.forename: A M M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mexia
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mumford
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001394:Azores; D033622:Ceratitis capitata / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020387:Food Chain; D008297:Male; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons; D012744:Sex Ratio
keywords: Ceratitis capitata; fruit infestation level; medfly; population dynamics; sex-ratio