Strength of Enemy Release From Parasitoids Is Context Dependent in the Invasive African Fig Fly, <i>Zaprionus indianus</i>

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the success of biological invasions is essential to employ effective prediction and management strategies. Escape from natural enemies in invaded regions (enemy release hypothesis, ERH) and increased competitive ability are hallmarks of invasive species; however, these two processes are rarely studied within the same context. Here, we examined the effect of enemy release on the competition outcomes of a successful invasive insect pest in North America, the African fig fly (<i>Zaprionus indianus</i>). Parasitoid wasps such as <i>Leptopilina heterotoma</i> that parasitize drosophilid larvae may seek out established species with known host suitability over a novel species, so we hypothesized <i>Z. indianus</i> may have low susceptibility to parasitoids, giving them a competitive advantage over co-occurring drosophilids. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the adult emergence rates from <i>Z. indianus</i> larvae reared alone or in competition with <i>Drosophila hydei</i> or <i>D. simulans</i> larvae in the presence and absence of parasitoid wasps under low and high larval densities. At low larval densities, <i>Z. indianus</i> emerged at equal rates to <i>D. hydei</i> but outcompeted <i>D. simulans</i>, and these outcomes were not affected by parasitoids. However, at high densities, the addition of parasitoids shifted competition outcomes in favor of <i>Z. indianus</i>, suggesting enemy release provides a competitive advantage under some circumstances. These results indicate that the strength of enemy release in <i>Z. indianus</i> is widely dependent on contextual factors such as density and competitor species. This study emphasizes how a community approach to testing the ERH is vital as the overall interpretation of the presence and strength of enemy release differed between intraspecific and interspecific experiments. Further investigation of how these results apply to field environments could offer insight into how <i>Z. indianus</i> alters ecosystems and how productive biological control may limit the spread of <i>Z. indianus</i>.