Abstract
The introduction of biological control agents to new environments requires host specificity tests to estimate potential non-target impacts of a prospective agent. Currently, the approach is conservative, and is based on physiological host ranges determined under captive rearing conditions, without consideration for ecological factors that may influence realized host range. We use historical data and current field data from introduced parasitoids that attack an endemic Lepidoptera species in Hawaii to validate a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) procedure for non-target impacts. We use data on known host range and habitat use in the place of origin of the parasitoids to determine whether contemporary levels of non-target parasitism could have been predicted using PRA. Our results show that reasonable predictions of potential non-target impacts may be made if comprehensive data are available from places of origin of biological control agents, but scant data produce poor predictions. Using apparent mortality data rather than marginal attack rate estimates in PRA resulted in over-estimates of predicted non-target impact. Incorporating ecological data into PRA models improved the predictive power of the risk assessments.
Highlights
The rate of biological invasions globally has increased dramatically in the past 500 years due to an increase in human activities such as transportation, migration, and commerce [1]
classical biological control (CBC) works under the premise that the reestablishment of top-down control by introduction of natural enemies will reduce the populations of invasive species and restore balance [3]
Key questions we addressed were: Would it have been possible to predict that Cotesia marginiventris (Braconidae), Meteorus laphygmae (Braconidae), and Trathala flavoorbitalis (Ichneumonidae) would attack
Summary
The rate of biological invasions globally has increased dramatically in the past 500 years due to an increase in human activities such as transportation, migration, and commerce [1]. Invasive species cause direct and indirect effects on organisms living in the environment they invade, and threaten biodiversity, agriculture, and human health. The enemy release hypothesis states that organisms become invasive in a new area because they have escaped the natural enemies that suppress their populations in their area of origin. Exotic species have an advantage over competitors in areas of introduction where indigenous species are still suppressed by their indigenous natural enemies [5]. CBC works under the premise that the reestablishment of top-down control by introduction of natural enemies will reduce the populations of invasive species and restore balance [3]
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