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Abundance and Distribution of Brevipalpus (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in the Residential Rio Piedras Watershed of San Juan’s Metropolitan Area of Puerto Rico

Amanda L. Henderson1,*, Elvia J. Meléndez-Ackerman2, and José Carlos V. Rodrigues3

1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor, Chicago IL 60607, USA. 2College of Natural Science, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, San Juan, PR 00936, USA. 3Center for Excellence in Quarantine and Invasive Species, Agricultural Experimental Station-Rio Piedras, Agro-Environmental Sciences Department, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, 1193 Calle Guayacán, San Juan, PR 00926, USA. *Corresponding author.

Caribbean Naturalist, No. 52 (2018)

Abstract
Numerous studies have highlighted the significance of the mite genus Brevipalpus (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), which has risen from virtual obscurity to that of economic importance over the last few decades. There are 3 Brevipalpus mite species known to colonize a substantial number of fruit crops and infect them with deadly viruses; it has been shown that ornamental plant species can also serve as hosts to Brevipalpus. The high volume of trade and frequent movement of live ornamental plants make Brevipalpus pests of concern in terms of its dispersal potential. We conducted this study in the San Juan metropolitan area of Puerto Rico, where prior biodiversity studies indicated an overabundance of introduced ornamental shrubs. For this survey, we encountered a total of 62 plant species, out of which 23 (37%) acted as hosts plants to 548 individual Brevipalpus mites. These plant species were distributed across 16 families, with a total of 16 plant species not previously reported as Brevipalpus host plants. The native-to-exotic stem ratio differed significantly across the 4 sites surveyed in terms of frequency of those hosting Brevipalpus mites (chi squared = 7.64, P = 0.05, df = 3).

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