Tarsonemídeos (Acari: Tarsonemidae) associados a frutos do coqueiro (Cocos nucifera L.) no litoral do Nordeste do Brasil: diversidade, taxonomia e bioecologia

Abstract

Steneotarsonemus concavuscutum and Steneotarsonemus furcatus are species of tarsonemids that inhabit and cause damage to coconut fruits. The lesions caused by these tarsonemids are easily confused with those caused by Aceria guerreronis, which is the most common species found on the fruit. Tarsonemus species have also been reported on coconut fruits, often associated with phytophagous mites. The objective of this study was: (i) to carry out a survey of Tarsonemidae associated with the perianth of coconut fruits in the northeastern coast of Brazil; (ii) to study the intraplant distribution of S. concavuscutum and predators Neoseiulus baraki; (iii) to evaluate the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on S. concavuscutum over the course of one year; (iv) to study the feeding habits of the Tarsonemus species found; (v) to study morphologically the Tarsonemus species found; and (vi) to evaluate the use of existing diagrammatic scales, as well as their predictive models, to estimate Steneotarsonemus populations. Steneotarsonemus concavuscutum, S. furcatus and four morphospecies of Tarsonemus found associated with coconut perianth; S. furcatus has a wider geographic distribution than S. concavuscutum, but it is less abundant; the intraplant distribution is influenced by fruit age, population peaking in the six-month-old sample; N. baraki is the main natural enemy of S. concavuscutum, whose population peak occurs in the seven-month- old sample; the population dynamics of S. concavuscutum are influenced by precipitation, average temperature, and by N. baraki; Tarsonemus (morphospecies 1) is a phytophagous species; and the illustration of diagrammatic scale Sousa et al. (2017), can be used to estimate S. concavuscutum populations, but a new model was established.