- Determine the spatio-temporal patterns of the abundance of Bactrocera dorsalis in Benin.
Bactrocera dorsalis is one of the most invasive species of the family of tephritid fruit flies and those of the genus Bactrocera. Previous studies from Benin have revealed that it is the most abundant species. Moreover, studies have also shown that it is a very damaging pest causing harm to most of the crops in countries where it is found. A great need for the study of spatial and temporal characteristics is required to provide more information on the management of this pest.
The study area will be the three agro-ecologies found in Benin which covers an area of 114763 square kilometers. Benin is a West African country that borders Togo to the West, Nigeria to the East and Burkina Faso and Niger to the North. The three agro-ecologies included in the study are: Forest Savannah Mosaic, Northern Guinea Savannah and Southern Guinea Savannah. The Forest Savannah Mosaic extends to the Coast of Benin and separates the upper and lower Guinean forests. The sites in Forest Savannah Mosaic that are under consideration are: Iloulofin, Ketou, and Lalo. Subsequently, in Northern Guinea Savannah Natitingou, Ndali, Parakou and Papatia are the sites considered. In Southern Guinea Savannah, Akofoudjole, Alifarou, Bassila, Mondjigagan, and Tchourou are considered.
The dependent variable under consideration is the abundance of Bactrocera dorsalis and the independent variables will be temperature mean, rainfall and relative humidity mean
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Determine the mean abundance of Bactrocera dorsalis during the different seasons (Rainy - May to September; Dry - October to April) across the three agro-ecologies (Forest Savannah Mosaic, Northern Guinea Savannah, Southern Guinea Savannah).
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Determine the seasonal effect on the mean abundance of Bactrocera dorsalis in Benin.
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Map the abundance and seasonal effect variation of Bactrocera dorsalis in Benin in the three agro-ecologies.
Mapping will be based on the two seasons in Benin and the three agro-ecologies over the period of 6 years that the data was collected. The spatial distribution within the time period will be shown across the three agro-ecologies during the different seasons. The mapping will be done separately for each of the two seasons and in each agro-ecology. Each agro-ecology will be mapped in accordance with the data collection sites. The semi-variogram will be used to depict the spatial autocorrelation of the data. Geo-referencing will be done to obtain the coordinates of the different sites in the three agro-ecologies. Before geo-referencing, the sites which are replicated will first be made the same so that that they can be georeferenced only once
Attached alongside this file is a data file named: Male_lures.csv
This study considers data that was collected over a period of six years (2004-2010) in Benin, West Africa and was obtained from International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). The data is from three agro-ecologies Northern Guinea Savanna (NGS), Southern Guinea Savanna (SGS) and Forest Savanna Mosaic (FSM). The dependent variable under consideration is the mean abundance of Bactrocera dorsalis and the independent variables will be temperature mean, rainfall and relative humidity.