Ultra-low, cryptic tropical fruit fly populations

A comment appeared in Proceedings B reviews a study by Papadopoulos, Plant, and Carey (2013; "From trickle to flood: the large-scale, cryptic invasion of California by tropical fruit flies." Proc. R. Soc. B: Biol. Sci. 280: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.1466) and suggests an alternative approach that addresses the biology of invasive species. In summary, inference of establishment of fruit flies based on recurrence data as performed by Papadopoulos et al. (2013) is neither explanatory nor provides confirmation of establishment in California. By contrast, physiologically based demographic models for medfly and olive fly accurately predict the potential distribution of the two fruit flies in California and elsewhere, and provide explanation for species phenology and dynamics that is critical for risk assessment and policy development for these and other invasive species under current climate and climate change scenarios.

Gutierrez A.P., Ponti L., Gilioli G., 2014. Comments on the concept of ultra-low, cryptic tropical fruit fly populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281, http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2825

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