Use of highly resolving molecular tools to assess the seasonal population dynamics of Ceratitis capitata

Abstract

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae), is an important pest species of African origin and has been introduced at various locations outside the species’ natural range. It has made its way into Europe in the 19th century and became well established throughout the Mediterranean Basin. It is rapidly expanding its range and has the ability to colonize a wide variety of environments. Incursions of C. capitata beyond the northern margin of its range are increasing while established populations are pushing the boundaries of the species’ current distribution further north. However, knowledge on annual and seasonal population dynamics of C. capitata is lacking. For this reason, we assessed whether populations within the core of European C. capitata distribution and populations at the edge of the distribution (marginal areas and satellite occurrences) show different genetic signatures in terms of genetic structuring and genetic diversity on a temporal scale.