Knotweed Management Strategies in North America with the Advent of Widespread Hybrid Bohemian Knotweed, Regional Differences, and the Potential for Biocontrol Via the Psyllid Aphalara itadori Shinji

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Clements ◽  
Todd Larsen ◽  
Jennifer Grenz

AbstractInvasive species with distributions that encompass much of the North American environment often demand a range of management approaches, for several key reasons. Firstly, the North American environment includes a large number of highly variable habitats in terms of climatic, edaphic, and landscape features. Secondly, these regional habitat differences are accentuated by jurisdictions within Canada and the United States, whereby approaches and available resources differ at local, regional, and national scales. Another important consideration is whether an invasive species or complex also possesses genetic variation. All three of these factors render the knotweed complex in North America a highly variable target for management. In this paper we review existing knowledge of the variable nature of knotweed species (Fallopia japonica (Houtt.) Ronse Decr., Fallopia sachalinensis (F. Schmidt ex Maxim) Ronse Decr., and Fallopia × bohemica, (Chrtek and Chrtková) J. P. Bailey in North America, and evaluate how herbicidal, mechanical and biological control measures must account for this genetic variation, as well as accounting for regional differences and the potential northward expansion of knotweed under climate change. The imminent release of the psyllid, Aphalara itadori Shinji as a biological control agent in North America must also navigate regional and genetic differences. Prior European experience dealing with the three knotweed species should prove useful, but additional research is needed to meet the emerging challenge posed by F. × bohemica in North America, including the possibility of glyphosate resistance. Managers also face challenges associated with posttreatment restoration measures. Furthermore, disparities in resources available to address knotweed management across the continent need to be addressed to contain the rapid spread of this highly persistent and adaptable species. Linking practitioners dealing with knotweed “on the ground” with academic research is a crucial step in the process of marshalling all available resources to reduce the rapidly spreading populations of knotweed.

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 485-510
Author(s):  
Robert Crystal-Ornelas ◽  
Emma J. Hudgins ◽  
Ross N. Cuthbert ◽  
Phillip J. Haubrock ◽  
Jean Fantle-Lepczyk ◽  
...  

Invasive species can have severe impacts on ecosystems, economies, and human health. Though the economic impacts of invasions provide important foundations for management and policy, up-to-date syntheses of these impacts are lacking. To produce the most comprehensive estimate of invasive species costs within North America (including the Greater Antilles) to date, we synthesized economic impact data from the recently published InvaCost database. Here, we report that invasions have cost the North American economy at least US$ 1.26 trillion between 1960 and 2017. Economic costs have climbed over recent decades, averaging US$ 2 billion per year in the early 1960s to over US$ 26 billion per year in the 2010s. Of the countries within North America, the United States (US) had the highest recorded costs, even after controlling for research effort within each country ($5.81 billion per cost source in the US). Of the taxa and habitats that could be classified in our database, invasive vertebrates were associated with the greatest costs, with terrestrial habitats incurring the highest monetary impacts. In particular, invasive species cumulatively (from 1960–2017) cost the agriculture and forestry sectors US$ 527.07 billion and US$ 34.93 billion, respectively. Reporting issues (e.g., data quality or taxonomic granularity) prevented us from synthesizing data from all available studies. Furthermore, very few of the known invasive species in North America had reported economic costs. Therefore, while the costs to the North American economy are massive, our US$ 1.26 trillion estimate is likely very conservative. Accordingly, expanded and more rigorous economic cost reports are necessary to provide more comprehensive invasion impact estimates, and then support data-based management decisions and actions towards species invasions.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1278
Author(s):  
Michael Glenn O’Connor ◽  
Amjad Horani ◽  
Adam J. Shapiro

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, under-recognized disease that affects respiratory ciliary function, resulting in chronic oto-sino-pulmonary disease. The PCD clinical phenotype overlaps with other common respiratory conditions and no single diagnostic test detects all forms of PCD. In 2018, PCD experts collaborated with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) to create a clinical diagnostic guideline for patients across North America, specifically considering the local resources and limitations for PCD diagnosis in the United States and Canada. Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) testing is recommended for first-line testing in patients ≥5 years old with a compatible clinical phenotype; however, all low nNO values require confirmation with genetic testing or ciliary electron micrograph (EM) analysis. Furthermore, these guidelines recognize that not all North American patients have access to nNO testing and isolated genetic testing is appropriate in cases with strong clinical PCD phenotypes. For unresolved diagnostic cases, referral to a PCD Foundation accredited center is recommended. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide insight on the North American PCD diagnostic process, to enhance the understanding of and adherence to current guidelines, and to promote collaboration with diagnostic pathways used outside of North America.


2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (5) ◽  
pp. 1305-1322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Orville ◽  
Gary R. Huffines ◽  
William R. Burrows ◽  
Kenneth L. Cummins

Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning data have been analyzed for the years 2001–09 for North America, which includes Alaska, Canada, and the lower 48 U.S. states. Flashes recorded within the North American Lightning Detection Network (NALDN) are examined. No corrections for detection efficiency variability are made over the 9 yr of the dataset or over the large geographical area comprising North America. There were network changes in the NALDN during the 9 yr, but these changes have not been corrected for nor have the recorded data been altered in any way with the exception that all positive lightning reports with peak currents less than 15 kA have been deleted. Thus, the reader should be aware that secular changes are not just climatological in nature. All data were analyzed with a spatial resolution of 20 km. The analyses presented in this work provide a synoptic view of the interannual variability of lightning observations in North America, including the impacts of physical changes in the network during the 9 yr of study. These data complement and extend previous analyses that evaluate the U.S. NLDN during periods of upgrade. The total (negative and positive) flashes for ground flash density, the percentage of positive lightning, and the positive flash density have been analyzed. Furthermore, the negative and positive first stroke peak currents and the flash multiplicity have been examined. The highest flash densities in Canada are along the U.S.–Canadian border (1–2 flashes per square kilometer) and in the United States along the Gulf of Mexico coast from Texas through Florida (exceeding 14 flashes per square kilometer in Florida). The Gulf Stream is “outlined” by higher flash densities off the east coast of the United States. Maximum annual positive flash densities in Canada range primarily from 0.01 to 0.3 flashes per square kilometer, and in the United States to over 0.5 flashes per square kilometer in the Midwest and in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The annual percentage of positive lightning to ground varies from less than 2% over Florida to values exceeding 25% off the West Coast, Alaska, and the Yukon. A localized maximum in the percentage of positive lightning in the NALDN occurs in Manitoba and western Ontario, just north of North Dakota and Minnesota. When averaged over North America, first stroke negative median peak currents range from 19.8 kA in 2001 to 16.0 kA in 2009 and for all years, average 16.1 kA. First stroke positive median peak currents range from a high of 29.0 kA in 2008 and 2009 to a low of 23.3 kA in 2003 with a median of 25.7 kA for all years. There is a relatively sharp transition from low to high median negative peak currents along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States. No sharp transitions are observed for the median positive peak currents. Relatively lower positive peak currents occur throughout the southeastern United States. The highest values of mean negative multiplicity exceed 3.0 strokes per flash in the NALDN with some variation over the 9 yr. Lower values of mean negative multiplicity occur in the western United States. Positive flash mean multiplicity is slightly higher than 1.1, with the highest values of 1.7 observed in the southwestern states. As has been noted in prior research, CG lightning has significant variations from storm to storm as well as between geographical regions and/or seasons and, consequently, a single distribution for any lightning parameter, such as multiplicity or peak current, may not be sufficient to represent or describe the parameter.


1875 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 164-167
Author(s):  
Aug. R. Grote

From the condition of an hypothesis the glacial epoch has been elevated into that of a theory by the explanations it has afforded to a certain class of geological phenomena. The present paper endeavors to show that certain zoological facts are consistent with the presence, during past times, of a vast progressive field of ice, which, in its movement from north to south, gradually extended over large portions of the North American continent. These facts, in the present instance, are furnished by a study of our Lepidoptera, or certain kinds of butterflies and moths now inhabiting the United States and adjacent territories.


1982 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-47
Author(s):  
Leonard Wilson

During his travels in America in 1841-1842 and 1845-1846, Charles Lyell was impressed by the difference of the living flora and fauna of North America from those of Europe. The fossil shells of the Cretaceous strata of New Jersey and of the Tertiary formations of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States showed that North America had also constituted a separate biological region during the Cretaceous and throughout the Tertiary. By contrast, the fossil plants of North American coal formations were so closely similar to those of Europe that Lyell concluded that during the Carboniferous, Europe and North America must have formed a continuous land area. As evidence of a former land connection between North America and Europe, Lyell observed that the distribution of sediments among the strata of the Appalachians indicated that the Carboniferous strata of North America had been derived from land lying to the East — where the Atlantic Ocean now is. Similarly, the North American Silurian and other Paleozoic systems contained fossils similar to those of Europe, and their sediments were so distributed as to suggest that they had been derived from land lying to the East. Lyell pointed out the ancient uniformity of European and American fossil life, without being able to explain it.


2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaozhe Li, Yasas S. N. Ferdinandez ◽  
Bruce Coulman

Smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) is an important cultivated perennial grass species in temperate regions of North America. Information on the genetic diversity and the relationships of available populations is necessary for an effective cultivar improvement program in this crop. The objective of this study was to assess and characterize the genetic variation and relationships of smooth bromegrass cultivars and genebank accessions on the basis of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Fourteen wild accessions and 23 cultivars representing several regions of the world were analyzed using six AFLP primer combinations. Of the total number of markers amplified, 90% was polymorphic. A set of 159 robust polymorphic markers was used to genotype the individuals. No AFLP band was specific to an individual bromegrass accession, but bands appeared in different frequencies among the populations. The molecular marker variation within populations of smooth bromegrass (79%) was higher than that among populations (21%). Cultivars developed in the former USSR were the most variable, followed by those developed in the United States of America and Canada. As a group, cultivars were more variable than wild genebank accessions. All of the North American smooth bromegrass cultivars were clustered together, suggesting a common ancestry of North American smooth brome cultivars developed over the past 60 yr. Cultivars developed in the former USSR occurred in several different clusters in the dendrogram, indicating a high among-cultivar diversity. Key words: Bromegrass, accessions, AFLP markers


Author(s):  
Matto Mildenberger ◽  
Leah C. Stokes

Energy resource debates sit at the center of both policymaking and electoral battles across North America. Yet in contrast to Europe, strong international institutions to manage continental energy policy have not developed. Instead, North American energy politics are shaped by four key factors: the federalist nature of North American countries, the absence of effective continental energy institutions, regional economic interdependence, and the relative power asymmetries between the United States and its neighbors, Canada and Mexico. Taken together, these features of North American energy regionalism distinguish it in both form and dynamics from energy politics in Europe and Asia. The North American energy system is an example of regional energy management in which a single dominant state pulls neighbors into a fragmented institutional framework.


1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1503-1523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Smith ◽  
Howard W. Tipper ◽  
David G. Taylor ◽  
Jean Guex

This is the first in a series of papers intended to establish a Lower Jurassic ammonite zonation that takes into account the biostratigraphic and biogeographic peculiarities of the North American succession. Its development has been spurred by the need for high-resolution correlation between allochthonous terranes and the need for a standard to which microfossil sequences may be coupled.In North America the lower boundary of the Pliensbachian is drawn above the last echioceratids. The lower Pliensbachian is divided into, in ascending order, the Imlayi, Whiteavesi, and Freboldi zones; the upper Pliensbachian, into the Kunae and Carlottense zones. The Fannin Bay section in the Queen Charlotte Islands is designated the stratotype for the Whiteavesi, Freboldi, and Kunae zones; ideal stratotypes for the Imlayi and Carlottense zones are not presently known. Reference sections former illustrating the faunal associations that characterize all the zones are designated in western Nevada (the Sunrise Formation), northeastern Oregon (the Hurwal Formation), and northern British Columbia (the Spatsizi Group and Takwahoni Formation).The Polymorphitidae and Eoderoceratidae furnish the most important zonal indicators for the lower Pliensbachian; Oxynoticeratidae (Fanninoceras) and Hildoceratidae, for the upper Pliensbachian. Pseudoskirroceras imlayi and Acanthopleuroceras whiteavesi are described as new species. The presence of amaltheids in the northern parts of the allochthonous terranes permits a comparison with the northwest European succession at this level. Furthermore, the association in North America of typically east Pacific, Mediterranean, and northeast Asian species, as well as northwest European forms, emphasizes the critical importance of the North American Pliensbachian in achieving global correlations.


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