University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology Entomology, Department of Spring 3-7-2017 EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND DIET IN STABLE FLY (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) DEVELOPMENT Melina Florez-Cuadros University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/entomologydiss Part of the Entomology Commons, and the Other Veterinary Medicine Commons Florez-Cuadros, Melina, "EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND DIET IN STABLE FLY (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) DEVELOPMENT" (2017). Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology. 48. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/entomologydiss/48 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Entomology, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND DIET IN STABLE FLY (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) DEVELOPMENT by Melina Florez-Cuadros A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partially Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: Entomology Under the Supervision of Professors David B. Taylor and Gary Brewer Lincoln, Nebraska March, 2017 EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND DIET IN STABLE FLY (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) DEVELOPMENT Melina Florez-Cuadros, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2017 Advisers: David B. Taylor and Gary Brewer Stable flies are among the most important blood feeding ectoparasites of cattle worldwide. The livestock industry is losing more than $2 billion dollar annually in the United States alone. Moist decaying vegetative material with bacteria supports larval de- velopment. Temperature and diet quality are important factors for stable fly develop- ment, affecting development rates, adult survival, and size, but how temperature affects adult size and interacts with nutrition is unknown. This study characterizes the relation- ship of temperature and diet quality in the development of stable flies. Two statistical models were used to analyze the effect of temperature alone (Lysyk, 1998) and tempera- ture-diet interactions (Boetel, et al. 2003). Temperature drives larval development, at higher temperatures stable flies develop faster. Interaction of the two factors affects when larvae pupate, larvae exposed to good nutrition and low temperatures take 90% more time than those at bad nutrition under high temperatures. Diet controls adult size, bigger flies grew on the standard diet at low temperatures, but also temperature influences size when flies are starving, and grew larger at higher temperatures. Results from this experiment show that temperature and diet interact in complex manners to affect stable fly develop- ment. At higher temperatures, development is fast but size is reduced. At low tempera- tures, development is slow, and although flies are exposed longer to predation, size in- creases, which may increase reproductive success. However, the interaction changes when food is limited, it is better to grow at small size for an opportunity to reproduce. Understanding of stable flies biology helps to discern population dynamics. Stable flies exhibit an evolutionary plasticity allowing successful development in a variety of condi- tions. This plasticity may account for their global colonization and prevalence in a variety of habitats. Trade-offs between fast growth and small size, and slow growth and larger size on stable flies, needs further study. Studies that compare stable flies size from the field are required to understand their phenology and how these conclusions could be ap- ply. i Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Dave Taylor, who has been the best advisor I could asked for, thanks for all you time and effort to make me a good scientist. Thanks to Dr. Gary Brewer, his support and guidance were key to my success. Thanks to Dr. Kathy Hanford for her direction, and to Dr. Kristina Friesen for her wish to make the project better. Thanks to all who were involved in this project. Dennis Berkebile for helping me in the lab and always smiling when I asked for something. Jamie, thanks for measuring the hundreds of wings –I know it was a tedious task- and care for my experiment. Thanks to Dr. Nathan Palmer for your guidance with the gene expression analysis, as well as to the UNL Bioinformatics Core Research Facility. Thanks so much to Cyrille Nzouda, from the Department of Statistics, for the suggestions in the statistical analysis. Special thanks to Colfuturo and Colciencias, the two agencies from Colombia that made possible my doctorate studies in the U.S. Please, keep going with these scholarships in Colombia, you have no idea how important this is for our society, for the country. Edu- cation is fundamental for the progress that we desperately need. Thanks also to the Department of Entomology at UNL, you all, students, staff and faculty made that great department, keep working hard. Jeri, you are precious, thanks for helping me to navigate on that sea of paperwork. Thanks to the Department for the finan- cial support through the last stages of my studies. ii Finalmente, gracias amor por todo tu apoyo incondicional, por estar siempre a mi lado, por tus palabras, tu tiempo y esfuerzo, por querer que siempre seamos mejores. Gra- cias por el cuidado de Antonia y tu amor a ella. También, gracias a mi familia, a mis her- manos, a Elvira y a mi mama que es la mejor del mundo, gracias por tus enseñanzas. Papá espero que me estés viendo desde arriba. Y a mi hija, gracias por existir. iii Dedication To all the dreamers out there…keep working, it only takes time iv Grant information - Scholarship from the “Fundación para el futuro de Colombia” –COLFU- TURO, 2013 -2014. U$43,000. - Scholarship Doctorados en el exterior 2015-2016, from the “Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia y Tecnología de Colombia” –COLCIENCIAS. U$100,000. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ............... 1 1.1 Biology of stable fly................................................................................ 1 Classification................................................................................................... 1 Life cycle ........................................................................................................ 2 Developmental substrates ............................................................................... 3 Adult biology and behavior ............................................................................ 5 1.2 Economic impact of stable flies in cattle industry .................................. 6 Behavioral and physiological responses of cattle to stable flies ..................... 8 1.3 Control of stable flies .............................................................................. 9 Cultural and mechanical control ................................................................... 10 Chemical control ........................................................................................... 11 Biological control.......................................................................................... 12 1.4 Insect growth and development ............................................................ 13 1.5 Size in insects ........................................................................................ 16 1.6 Gene expression .................................................................................... 20 1.7 References ............................................................................................. 24 CHAPTER 2 EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND DIET IN STABLE FLY (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) DEVELOPMENT .................................................... 24 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 40 2.2 Materials and methods .......................................................................... 42 vi Stable flies. .................................................................................................... 42 Treatments..................................................................................................... 42 Wings ............................................................................................................ 43 2.3 Statistical analysis ................................................................................. 44 Stable flies development ............................................................................... 44 Lysyk, 1998 model: ...................................................................................... 44 Boetel, et al. 2003 model .............................................................................. 45 Stable fly wings size. .................................................................................... 46 2.4 Results ................................................................................................... 47 Lysyk, 1998 model results ............................................................................ 47 Effects on wing size ...................................................................................... 49 2.5 Discussion ............................................................................................. 49 2.6 References ............................................................................................. 53 2.7 Figures and tables ................................................................................