| Autor: |
Elmoghazy MME; Agriculture Zoology and Nematology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo P.O. Box 11884, Egypt., Elsherbini DMA; Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, P.O. Box 2014, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia., Mashlawi AM; Department of Biology, College of Science, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia., Ibrahim AM; College of Nursing, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Family and Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University, Port Said 42511, Egypt., El-Mansi AA; Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia., El-Sherbiny M; Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, AlMaarefa University, P.O. Box 71666, Riyadh 11597, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt. |
| Abstrakt: |
Amblyseius swirskii are predaceous mites that feed on phytophagous mites, pollens, and plant exudates and are known as one of the most potent biological pest management agents. Tetranychus urticae is a global mite that is difficult to manage because of its high population growth rates, necessitating alternative management measures like biological control. Regarding the functional response, the effects of temperature and prey density are some of the essential behaviors of natural enemies. This study investigates the effect of varying temperatures and prey densities on A. swirskii , a biological control agent for T. urticae . The present results demonstrated the change in the functional response estimates when A. swirskii was reared at various temperatures and different prey densities. The results of the estimates regarding the searching efficiency ( a' ) showed the highest value ( a' = 0.919) at 26 °C and the lowest value ( a' = 0.751) at 14 °C. The handling time per prey item ( T h ) for the predatory mites changed with the temperature and prey density, showing the shortest handling time at 26 °C ( T h = 0.005) and the highest value at 14 °C ( T h = 0.015). The functional response curves matched the type II functional response model, demonstrating the inverse dependence of temperatures and prey density with a positive quadratic coefficient. The predation curves for A. swirskii showed a significant difference between the mean numbers of T. urticae consumed at various prey densities and temperatures, illustrating a relationship between A. swirskii and T. urticae. Therefore, the results of this research may be utilized to forecast the behavior of A. swirskii and its usefulness in controlling T. urticae populations. |
