Towards eradication: The history and management of Bitou Bush on K'gari‐Fraser Island, Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Behrendorff ◽  
Stacy M. Harris ◽  
Ian F. Muirhead
Keyword(s):  
Bitou Bush

scholarly journals Unsuccessful introduced biocontrol agents can act as pollinators of invasive weeds: Bitou Bush (Chrysanthemoides moniliferassp.rotundata) as an example

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (20) ◽  
pp. 8643-8656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline L. Gross ◽  
Joshua D. Whitehead ◽  
Camila Silveira de Souza ◽  
David Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Biocontrol Agents ◽  
Invasive Weeds ◽  
Bitou Bush

Management of Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata in Western Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 190-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Scott ◽  
Kathryn L. Batchelor
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Awareness Campaign ◽  
First Time ◽  
Established Population ◽  
Bitou Bush

AbstractOne of Australia's most serious weeds, Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata (bitou bush) was recently found for the first time in Western Australia as a well established population in Kwinana, a major port and industrial area south of Perth, the State's capital. This population is remote from other bitou bush infestations in Australia and had escaped detection despite extensive surveys in the same State for the other subspecies that is present in Australia, Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. monilifera (boneseed). The main reasons it went undetected are thought to be the tightly controlled access to this area because of mineral processing and port activities, the unusual invasion route via a heavy industrial area and the morphological similarity to a native species when it is not flowering. Two surveys defined the core population of 1038 plants that are spread along the coast over a 25-ha semi-circle with about a 500-m (1640 ft) diameter. Subsequent surveys of first a 500 m buffer zone and later a 1-km (0.621 mi) buffer found four additional plants, indicating that there is considerable potential for dispersal. We concluded that the survey has not delimited the distribution because of the potential and evidence for long distance dispersal. Cooperation by the various land managers has led to all plants being killed, as an initial step to management of this species. Other steps to be undertaken include an awareness campaign in the area that would need to be surveyed for delimitation of the spatial distribution and seed bank assessment to measure potential dispersal both in space and through time. It remains to be determined what is the best strategic response: eradication or containment.

scholarly journals Long term monitoring of recruitment dynamics determines eradication feasibility for an introduced coastal weed

NeoBiota ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 31-53
Author(s):  
John K. Scott ◽  
Kathryn L. Batchelor ◽  
Bruce L. Webber
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Soil Seed Bank ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Soil Core ◽  
National Significance ◽  
Bitou Bush

Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata) is a Weed of National Significance in Australia and has impacted a significant portion of the eastern coastline. Its discovery in Western Australia was, therefore, a cause for concern. Assessment and control of the isolated and well-defined population began in 2012. To assess the feasibility of eradication in Western Australia as a management outcome for bitou bush, we applied a rigorous data-driven quantification and prediction process to the control program. Between 2012 and 2018 we surveyed over 253 ha of land and removed 1766 bitou bush plants. Approximately 97 person-days were spent over the six years of survey. We measured the seed bank viability for five years starting in 2013, with the 2017 survey results indicating a decline of mean viable seeds/m2 from 39.3 ± 11.4 to 5.7 ± 2.2. In 2018 we found only ten plants and no newly recruited seedlings in the population. No spread to other areas has been recorded. Soil core studies indicate that the soil seed bank is unlikely to persist beyond eight years. Eradication of the population in Western Australia, defined as five years without plants being detected, therefore remains a realistic management goal. The information generated from the documentation of this eradication program provides invaluable insight for weed eradication attempts more generally: novel detection methods can be effective in making surveys more efficient, all survey methods are not entirely accurate and large plants can escape detection, bitou bush seeds persist in the soil but become effectively undetectable at low densities, and migration of seed was unquantifiable, possibly compromising delimitation. Continued monitoring of the Western Australian population will determine how much of a risk these factors represent to eradication as the outcome of this management program.

Aerial photography and dendrochronology as tools for recreating invasion histories: do they work for bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata)?

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 2983-2996 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Scott ◽  
Kathryn L. Batchelor ◽  
Tommaso Jucker ◽  
Bruce L. Webber
Keyword(s):  
Aerial Photography ◽  
Bitou Bush

scholarly journals Impact of the biological control agent Mesoclanis polana (Tephritidae) on bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata) in eastern Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.B. Edwards ◽  
R.J. Adair ◽  
R.H. Holtkamp ◽  
W.J. Wanjura ◽  
A.S. Bruzzese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Attack Rate ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
New South ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Reasonable Estimate ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Bitou Bush

AbstractThe seed fly Mesoclanis polana (Diptera: Tephritidae) was released in Australia in 1996. Its impact on seed production of bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata) was monitored at eight sites along the New South Wales coast from 1996 to 2004. Peak flowerhead production occurred in autumn (March to May); therefore, samples collected in May of each year were used to compare abundance and impact of M. polana across sites and between years. Latitude had a significant effect on abundance and impact of M. polana. By May 2004, 99.6% of flowerheads at the five most northern sites contained at least one egg, while 64% of flowerheads from the two most southern sites contained at least one egg. In May 2004, mean numbers of M. polana eggs per flowerhead were between 13 and 17 at four of the six northern sites and below two at the two southern sites. In May 2004, average seed destruction by M. polana was 58% at the four most northern sites and 11% at the two most southern sites. The highest level of seed destruction recorded was 86% at Kingscliff in May 2003. Percentage seed destruction in May provided a reasonable estimate of seed destruction for the whole year. Parasitoids were found throughout the range of M. polana in Australia. Their attack rate on M. polana was less than 10% at all sites, except at the two most northern sites where parasitism of up to 27% was recorded. Parasitism results are compared with predictions made following an earlier study. The release of Mesoclanis magnipalpis, a species suited to cooler environments, is recommended for the southern range of C. monilifera subsp. rotundata.

Fruit characteristics of invasive bitou bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera (Asteraceae), and a comparison with co-occurring native plant species

2004 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Gosper
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Coastal Vegetation ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Fruit Characteristics ◽  
Invasive Weed ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Bitou Bush

Bitou bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera (L.) Norlindh ssp. rotundata (DC.) Norlindh, is an invasive weed of coastal vegetation types in eastern Australia. It produces fleshy fruits, which are dispersed by birds and mammals. Compared with a range of vertebrate-dispersed fruits of native plant species that co-occur with naturalised C. monilifera, or occur elsewhere in south-eastern Australia, C. monilifera fruits and endocarps are intermediate in all dimensions and in the ratio of endocarp to pulp. C. monilifera fruits contain moderate quantities of sugars, but low quantities of protein and fat relative to many native fruits. Phenology, however, substantially distinguishes C. monilifera from co-occurring native plant species. C. monilifera produces fruits throughout the year, with the peak of production occurring in autumn to winter, a time when few native species in coastal vegetation produce fruits. Additionally, 9 of the 12 native species that do fruit, at least partly, over this period, differ substantially from C. monilifera in fruit morphology. C. monilifera, along with other invasive species, has substantially altered the temporal pattern of fruit availability in coastal vegetation. These fruiting characteristics have rendered C. monilifera fruits attractive to frugivores and have contributed to its successful spread.

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