Impacts of climate change on high priority fruit fly species in Australia

Abstract

Tephritid fruit flies are among the most destructive horticultural pests and pose risks to Australia’s multi-billion-dollar horticulture industry. Currently, there are 11 pest fruit fly species of economic concern present in various regions of Australia. Of these, nine are native to this continent (Bactrocera aquilonis, B. bryoniae, B. halfordiae, B. jarvisi, B. kraussi, B. musae, B. neohumeralis, B. tryoni and Zeugodacus cucumis), while B. frauenfeldi and Ceratitis capitata are introduced. To varying degrees these species are costly to Australia’s horticulture through in-farm management, monitoring to demonstrate pest freedom, quarantine and trade restrictions, and crop losses. Here, we used a common species distribution modelling approach, Maxent, to assess habitat suitability for these 11 species under current and future climate scenarios. These projections indicate that the Wet Tropics is likely to be vulnerable to all 11 species. The east coast of Australia will likely remain vulnerable to multiple species until at least 2070. Both the Cape York Peninsula and Northern Territory are also likely to be vulnerable, however, extrapolation to novel climates in these areas decrease confidence in model projections. The climate suitability of current major horticulture regions in north-western Australia, the Northern Territory, southern-central regions of New South Wales and southern Victoria to these pests is projected to increase as climate changes. Our study highlights areas at risk of pest range expansion in the future, to guide Australia’s horticulture industry in developing effective monitoring and management strategies.