Publications by authors named "L M Pantoja-Gomez"

Among Bemisia tabaci species, the invasive MEAM1 and MED species are key agricultural pests for many crops. In Brazil, most part of B. tabaci population outbreaks were associated with MEAM1, which, since 1990s quickly spread across the entire country.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how different crops in Brazil affect the host interactions and population dynamics of two types of moths, Helicoverpa armigera and H. zea, that attack crops like cotton and soybean.
  • Findings show that H. armigera has the highest survival rate on cotton, while noncotton crops are significant sources of H. armigera moths, particularly in regions growing winter maize.
  • The research concludes that variations in host usage and population dynamics across regions may be influenced by the availability of alternative plants and the moths' adaptation behaviors like diapause and migration.*
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Background: Invasion of organisms into new ecosystems is increasingly common, due to the global trade in commodities. One of the most complex post-invasion scenarios occurs when an invasive species is related to a native pest, and even more so when they can hybridize and produce fertile progeny. The global pest Helicoverpa armigera was first detected in Brazil in 2013 and generated a wave of speculations about the possibility of hybridization with the native sister taxon Helicoverpa zea.

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The coffee leaf miner, Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Mèneville & Perrottet, 1842), probably infested coffee plants in Neotropical America during the 19th century. The species subsequently became a key pest of coffee plants in Brazil, but not in Colombia, the two main coffee producers in the region. The contrasting importance of the coffee leaf miner in Brazil and Colombia may be the result of the evolutionary and demographic history of this species.

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