ABSTRACT
Nysius simulans (Stål) is a suctorial, fluid feeding herbivore that can transmit toxins and spread pathogens via saliva and is an economically important pest for soybean in South America. Currently, N. simulans in soybean is predominantly found in Argentina, but future changes in the distribution from both dispersal and range shifts due to climate change may affect soybean cultivation in southern South America. We developed a species distribution model to examine the distribution range of N. simulans. We compared the potential distribution of N. simulans under current and future projected climatic conditions in order to identify future areas of natural occurrence with ecological niche models using Maxent. Current records of N. simulans show that while the species is present in Argentina, and some areas of Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, our models suggest that many new suitable areas will be available for N. simulans under climate change including other regions of Argentina, and southern Chile. Our results also predict potential future range shifts and distributions into Bolivia, but not Peru nor Brazil. In our model, seasonal trends in temperature were shown to have the greatest contribution to the potential distribution, whereas isothermality (i.e., temperature variability) was correlated to potential future distribution ranges. We conclude that current populations of N. simulans may be expanding its distribution range by diffusion (i.e., range expansion over generations at the margins of populations), and regions with potential future N. simulans distribution should be closely monitored.
