Long-term dynamics of a predator used for biological control and decoupling from mosquito prey in a subtropical treehole ecosystem

Oecologia ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. P. Lounibos ◽  
R. L. Escher ◽  
N. Nishimura ◽  
S. A. Juliano
Keyword(s):  
Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 787
Author(s):  
Giuseppino Sabbatini-Peverieri ◽  
Christine Dieckhoff ◽  
Lucrezia Giovannini ◽  
Leonardo Marianelli ◽  
Pio Federico Roversi ◽  
...  

Halyomorpha halys is a severe agricultural pest of Asian origin that has invaded many countries throughout the world. Pesticides are currently the favored control methods, but as a consequence of their frequent use, often disrupt Integrated Pest Management. Biological control with egg parasitoids is seen as the most promising control method over the long-term. Knowledge of the reproductive biology under laboratory conditions of the most effective candidates (Trissolcus japonicus and Trissolcus mitsukurii) for optimizing production for field releases is strongly needed. Rearing of these egg parasitoids was tested by offering three different host supply regimes using new emerged females and aged, host-deprived females in different combinations. Results showed a mean progeny per female ranging from 80 to 85 specimens for T. japonicus and from 63 to 83 for T. mitsukurii. Sex ratios were strongly female biased in all combinations and emergence rates exceeded 94% overall. Cumulative curves showed that longer parasitization periods beyond 10–14 days (under the adopted rearing regimes) will not lead to a significantly increase in progeny production. However, ageing females accumulate eggs in their ovaries that can be quickly laid if a sufficient number of host eggs are supplied, thus optimizing host resources. Our data showed that offering H. halys egg masses to host-deprived female Trissolcus once a week for three weeks allowed its eggs to accumulate in the ovary, providing the greatest number of offspring within a three week span.


Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Ferenc Peles ◽  
Péter Sipos ◽  
Szilvia Kovács ◽  
Zoltán Győri ◽  
István Pócsi ◽  
...  

Aflatoxins (AFs) are toxic secondary metabolites produced mostly by Aspergillus species. AF contamination entering the feed and food chain has been a crucial long-term issue for veterinarians, medicals, agroindustry experts, and researchers working in this field. Although different (physical, chemical, and biological) technologies have been developed, tested, and employed to mitigate the detrimental effects of mycotoxins, including AFs, universal methods are still not available to reduce AF levels in feed and food in the last decades. Possible biological control by bacteria, yeasts, and fungi, their excretes, the role of the ruminal degradation, pre-harvest biocontrol by competitive exclusion or biofungicides, and post-harvest technologies and practices based on biological agents currently used to alleviate the toxic effects of AFs are collected in this review. Pre-harvest biocontrol technologies can give us the greatest opportunity to reduce AF production on the spot. Together with post-harvest applications of bacteria or fungal cultures, these technologies can help us strictly reduce AF contamination without synthetic chemicals.


Botany ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Reid ◽  
Simon F. Shamoun

Many mistletoe species are pests in agricultural and forest ecosystems throughout the world. Mistletoes are unusual “weeds” as they are generally endemic to areas where they achieve pest status and, therefore, classical biological control and broad-scale herbicidal control are usually impractical. In North American coniferous forests, dwarf mistletoe ( Arceuthobium spp.) infection results in major commercial losses and poses a public liability in recreation settings. Hyperparasitic fungi have potential as biological control agents of dwarf mistletoe, including species which attack shoots, berries, and the endophytic systems of dwarf mistletoe. Development of an inundative biological control strategy will be useful in situations where traditional silvicultural control is impractical or undesirable. In southern Australia, farm eucalypts are often attacked and killed by mistletoes ( Amyema spp.) in grazed landscapes where tree decline and biodiversity loss are major forms of land degradation. Although long-term strategies to achieve a balance between mistletoe and host abundance are promoted, many graziers want short-term options to treat severely infected trees. Recent research has revisited the efficiency and efficacy of silvicultural treatments and selective herbicides in appropriate situations. The results of recent research on these diverse management strategies in North America and Australia are summarized.


2018 ◽  
Vol 150 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-273
Author(s):  
J. van Zoeren ◽  
C. Guédot ◽  
S.A. Steffan

AbstractBiological control plays an important role in many integrated pest management programmes, but can be disrupted by other control strategies, including chemical and cultural controls. In commercial cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton; Ericaceae) production, a spring flood can replace an insecticide application, providing an opportunity to study the compatibility of the flood (a cultural control) with biological control. We suspect that chemical controls will tend to reduce the number of natural enemies, while the flood, through removal of detritus and detritivores, may cause generalist predators to prey-switch to consume proportionally more pest individuals. We measured the abundance of herbivores (Lepidoptera), detritivores, Arachnida, and parasitoids (Hymenoptera) every week for six weeks in Wisconsin (United States of America) cranberry beds following either an insecticide spray or a cultural control flood. We found that detritivore populations rapidly declined in both flood and spray treatments; conversely, carnivore populations (spiders and parasitoids) were more abundant in the flooded beds than in sprayed beds. Populations of key cranberry pests were similar between flooded and sprayed beds. Our results showed that early-season flooding preserved more natural enemies than an insecticide application. This increase in natural enemy abundance after the flood may allow for greater continuity in herbivore suppression, potentially providing a basis for long-term cranberry pest management.


2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Behzad Habibpour ◽  
Amir Cheraghi ◽  
Mohammad Saeed Mossadegh

This article is the first report on the promising effect of an entomopathogenic fungus, <em>Metarhizium anisopliae</em> (Metschnikoff) Sorokin to control populations of <em>Microcerotermes diversus </em>Silvestri. Biological control is an alternative to the long-term usage of chemical pesticides.<em> M. anisopliae</em>, the causal agent of green muscardine disease of insects, is an important fungus in biological control of insect pests. Bait systems can eliminate entire colonies of subterranean termites. Baiting reduces adverse environmental impacts caused by organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in the control of termites and creates sustainable protection of buildings against their invasion. Treated-sawdust bait was applied by two methods: a) combination of treated sawdust and untreated filter paper, and b) combination of treated sawdust and untreated sawdust. When combinations of treated sawdust and untreated sawdust were used, LC50 and LC90 were 8.4&times;106 and 3.9&times;107 (spore/ml), respectively. With the use of improved bait formula and more virulent strains, we hope to achieve better control of termite colonies and enable pathogens to become a useful element in the Integrated Pest Management system.


Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 369 (6508) ◽  
pp. 1245-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. de Tombeur ◽  
B. L. Turner ◽  
E. Laliberté ◽  
H. Lambers ◽  
G. Mahy ◽  
...  

The biogeochemical silicon cycle influences global primary productivity and carbon cycling, yet changes in silicon sources and cycling during long-term development of terrestrial ecosystems remain poorly understood. Here, we show that terrestrial silicon cycling shifts from pedological to biological control during long-term ecosystem development along 2-million-year soil chronosequences in Western Australia. Silicon availability is determined by pedogenic silicon in young soils and recycling of plant-derived silicon in old soils as pedogenic pools become depleted. Unlike concentrations of major nutrients, which decline markedly in strongly weathered soils, foliar silicon concentrations increase continuously as soils age. Our findings show that the retention of silicon by plants during ecosystem retrogression sustains its terrestrial cycling, suggesting important plant benefits associated with this element in nutrient-poor environments.


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