Land Surface Temperature (LST) as an environmental variable in the study of insect pest populations: The population dynamics of the olive fly in the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract: Environmental temperature affects the physiology, activity and life history of organisms, especially of poikilothermic organisms such as insects. The study and modelling of ecological phenomena driven by temperature has usually relied on in-situ data-loggers established in the investigated habitat, or on temperatures measured on meteorological stations, which may be located far from the studied ecosystem. Land Surface Temperature (LST) has recently been incorporated as an input in these environmental studies and modelling. We used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) daily LST product (MOD11A1). MODIS LST can be directly used as input for modelling skin temperature of the earth surface, or can be transformed to approach actual sensed temperatures by organisms residing in the tree canopy. We describe the use of MODIS LST (and normalized difference vegetation index) to estimate canopy temperature sensed within the olive canopy, and the utilization of this derived temperature in modelling olive fly population trends and dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean.