Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
871
result(s) for
"Pest introduction"
Sort by:
Aliens from earth : when animals and plants invade other ecosystems
Explores how and why plants and animals enter ecosystems to which they are not native, as well as the consequences of these invasions for other animals, plants, and humans.
Book
Socio-environmental drivers of establishment of Lymantria dispar, a nonnative forest pest, in the United States
Geographical variation in the likelihood of biological invasions can be affected by propagule pressure and habitat suitability, which are driven by ecological and social processes. Past studies have empirically quantified the role of drivers by comparing geographical variation in numbers of invading species with variation in candidate factors; however, lack of data has limited empirical studies for individual species. Lymantria dispar (L.), a nonnative forest pest formerly known as gypsy moth, is an exemplar species for exploring invasion drivers because of extensive records on its spread. Since its establishment in eastern United States in 1869, it has been repeatedly introduced into outlying areas, prompting 325 eradication programs from 1972 to 2014. We used these eradication programs as proxies for new establishment events, with the assumption that populations would have established in the absence of eradication treatments. These proxy events were used to quantify the effects of socio-environmental factors on the probability of L. dispar arrival and establishment. Establishment probability was significantly affected by propagule pressure (distance to the previously invaded area, human population size, and the area of source outbreaks) and habitat suitability (climate and availability of host trees). The statistical model developed here can be used to predict invasions and inform surveillance strategies to more efficiently manage these invasions.
Journal Article
Red imported fire ants : attacking everything
\"In this book, readers learn about the invasive fire ant\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Predicting hotspots for invasive species introduction in Europe
Plant pest invasions cost billions of Euros each year in Europe. Prediction of likely places of pest introduction could greatly help focus efforts on prevention and control and thus reduce societal costs of pest invasions. Here, we test whether generic data-driven risk maps of pest introduction, valid for multiple species and produced by machine learning methods, could supplement the costly species-specific risk analyses currently conducted by governmental agencies. An elastic-net algorithm was trained on a dataset covering 243 invasive species to map risk of new introductions in Europe as a function of climate, soils, water, and anthropogenic factors. Results revealed that the BeNeLux states, Northern Italy, the Northern Balkans, and the United Kingdom, and areas around container ports such as Antwerp, London, Rijeka, and Saint Petersburg were at higher risk of introductions. Our analysis shows that machine learning can produce hotspot maps for pest introductions with a high predictive accuracy, but that systematically collected data on species’ presences
and
absences are required to further validate and improve these maps.
Journal Article
Urban trees facilitate the establishment of non-native forest insects
Cities, due to the presence of ports and airports and the high diversity of trees in streets, parks, and gardens, may play an important role for the introduction of invasive forest pests. We hypothesize that areas of urban forest facilitate the establishment of non-native forest pests. Based on scientific literature and a pan-European database on non-native species feeding on woody plants, we analysed where the first detections occurred in European countries. We collected site data for 137 first detections in Europe and 508 first European country-specific records. We also estimated the percentage of tree cover and suitable habitat (green areas with trees) in buffers around detection points. The large majority of first records (89% for first record in Europe and 88% for first records in a European country) were found in cities or suburban areas. Only 7% of the cases were in forests far from cities. The probability of occurrence decreased sharply with distance from the city. The probability to be detected in urban areas was higher for sap feeders, gall makers, and seed or fruit feeders (>90%) than for bark and wood borers (81%). Detection sites in cities were highly diverse, including public parks, street trees, university campus, arboreta, zoos, and botanical gardens. The average proportion of suitable habitat was less than 10% in urban areas where the species were detected. Further, more than 72% of the cases occurred in sites with less than 20% of tree cover. Hotspots of first detection were identified along the coastal regions of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and near industrial areas of central Europe. We conclude that urban trees are main facilitators for the establishment of non-native forest pests, and that cities should thus be intensely surveyed. Moreover, as urban areas are highly populated, the involvement of citizens is highly recommended.
Journal Article
Impact of environmental variables on Dubas bug infestation rate: A case study from the Sultanate of Oman
Date palm cultivation is economically important in the Sultanate of Oman, with significant financial investment coming from both the government and from private individuals. However, a global infestation of Dubas bug (Ommatissus lybicus Bergevin) has impacted the Middle East region, and infestations of date palms have been widespread. In this study, spatial analysis and geostatistical techniques were used to model the spatial distribution of Dubas bug infestations to (a) identify correlations between Dubas bug densities and different environmental variables, and (b) predict the locations of future Dubas bug infestations in Oman. Firstly, we considered individual environmental variables and their correlations with infestation locations. Then, we applied more complex predictive models and regression analysis techniques to investigate the combinations of environmental factors most conducive to the survival and spread of the Dubas bug. Environmental variables including elevation, geology, and distance to drainage pathways were found to significantly affect Dubas bug infestations. In contrast, aspect and hillshade did not significantly impact on Dubas bug infestations. Understanding their distribution and therefore applying targeted controls on their spread is important for effective mapping, control and management (e.g., resource allocation) of Dubas bug infestations.
Journal Article
The linear mitochondrial genome of the quarantine chytrid Synchytrium endobioticum; insights into the evolution and recent history of an obligate biotrophic plant pathogen
Background
Chytridiomycota species (chytrids) belong to a basal lineage in the fungal kingdom. Inhabiting terrestrial and aquatic environments, most are free-living saprophytes but several species cause important diseases: e.g.
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
, responsible for worldwide amphibian decline; and
Synchytrium endobioticum
, causing potato wart disease.
S. endobioticum
has an obligate biotrophic lifestyle and isolates can be further characterized as pathotypes based on their virulence on a differential set of potato cultivars. Quarantine measures have been implemented globally to control the disease and prevent its spread. We used a comparative approach using chytrid mitogenomes to determine taxonomical relationships and to gain insights into the evolution and recent history of introductions of this plant pathogen.
Results
We assembled and annotated the complete mitochondrial genome of 30
S. endobioticum
isolates and generated mitochondrial genomes for five additional chytrid species. The mitochondrial genome of
S. endobioticum
is linear with terminal inverted repeats which was validated by tailing and PCR amplifying the telomeric ends. Surprisingly, no conservation in organisation and orientation of mitochondrial genes was observed among the Chytridiomycota except for
S. endobioticum
and its sister species
Synchytrium microbalum
. However, the mitochondrial genome of
S. microbalum
is circular and comprises only a third of the 72.9 Kbp found for
S. endobioticum
suggesting recent linearization and expansion. Four mitochondrial lineages were identified in the
S. endobioticum
mitochondrial genomes. Several pathotypes occur in different lineages, suggesting that these have emerged independently. In addition, variations for polymorphic sites in the mitochondrial genome of individual isolates were observed demonstrating that
S. endobioticum
isolates represent a community of different genotypes. Such communities were shown to be complex and stable over time, but we also demonstrate that the use of semi-resistant potato cultivars triggers a rapid shift in the mitochondrial haplotype associated with increased virulence.
Conclusions
Mitochondrial genomic variation shows that
S. endobioticum
has been introduced into Europe multiple times, that several pathotypes emerged multiple times, and that isolates represent communities of different genotypes. Our study represents the most comprehensive dataset of chytrid mitogenomes, which provides new insights into the extraordinary dynamics and evolution of mitochondrial genomes involving linearization, expansion and reshuffling.
Journal Article
Pest Risk Maps for Invasive Alien Species: A Roadmap for Improvement
Pest risk maps are powerful visual communication tools to describe where invasive alien species might arrive, establish, spread, or cause harmful impacts. These maps inform strategic and tactical pest management decisions, such as potential restrictions on international trade or the design of pest surveys and domestic quarantines. Diverse methods are available to create pest risk maps, and can potentially yield different depictions of risk for the same species. Inherent uncertainties about the biology of the invader, future climate conditions, and species interactions further complicate map interpretation. If multiple maps are available, risk managers must choose how to incorporate the various representations of risk into their decisionmaking process, and may make significant errors if they misunderstand what each map portrays. This article describes the need for pest risk maps, compares pest risk mapping methods, and recommends future research to improve such important decision-support tools.
Journal Article
Liberation and spread of stoats (Mustela erminea) and weasels (M. nivalis) in New Zealand, 1883–1920
This paper reviews the timing and spread of weasels and stoats across the South and North Islands of New Zealand during the late nineteenth century, entirely from historical records. The flavour of the debates and the assumptions that led to the commissioning of private and government shipments of these animals are best appreciated from the original documents. I describe the sites of the early deliberate releases in Otago, Canterbury, Marlborough, and Wairarapa, and list contemporary observations of the subsequent dispersal of the released animals to named locations in Southland, Westland, Wellington, Hawke’s Bay, Auckland and Northland. Originally, weasels were landed in far greater numbers than stoats (2622 weasels and 963 stoats listed in shipment records) and, while at first they were very abundant, they are now much less abundant than stoats. Two non-exclusive hypotheses could explain this historic change: (1) depletion of supplies of their preferred small prey including birds, mice, roosting bats, lizards, frogs and invertebrates, and (2) competition with stoats. Contemporary historic written observations on the first impacts of the arrivals of weasels and stoats on the native fauna offer graphic illustrations of what has been lost, but usually failed to consider the previous impacts of the abundant rats (Rattus exulanssince the late 13th century, andR. norvegicussince 1770s–90s), and cannot now be distinguished from the activities ofR. rattusarriving in the 1860s–90s.
Journal Article