Université Laval
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: Valérie Fournier
Edel Pérez Lopez, Université Laval
Start: 2025-01-20
End: 2029-01-31

Project

Modeling the effects of climate and agricultural practices on leafhopper ecology in strawberry and blueberry production systems
The effects of climate change on agriculture and pest insects are multilayered and complex. The global increase in temperatures and the extension of warm seasons favors the expansion of insect thermal limits, increases the number of annual generations, and intensifies the virulence of associated phytopathogenic microorganisms. As a result, the use of chemical insecticides has significantly increased in recent years. In this context, this project aims to analyze the abundance and diversity of leafhoppers across different agricultural systems in relation to climatic variations, as well as to identify their associated parasitoids. Furthermore, it plans to develop insect traps equipped with cameras linked to a recognition program, enabling the automated detection and identification of leafhoppers and other insects of interest directly in the field. The results obtained will contribute to a better understanding of leafhopper ecology and will be used to estimate infestation risks related to climatic conditions, define detection and intervention thresholds to reduce the use of chemical insecticides, and identify potential natural enemies of leafhoppers to promote biological control methods.

Keywords

biodiversity, climate, Biocontrol