Biocontrol

Question 1

What can broad-spectrum pesticides be harmful to ?

Answer 1

Non-Target insects
Other wildlife
Farm worker health
Consumer health

Question 2

Why is resistance to pesticides occurring ?

Answer 2

Higher application rates
New pesticides
Use more to kill resistant species- ‘pesticide treadmill’

Question 3

What are the issues with global travel and pests ?

Answer 3

Exotic pests are moving around the world

natural enemies are not in the new habitat

Question 4

What is the benefit of biocontrol ?

Answer 4

Long term, sustainable and relatively inexpensive

Question 5

list the 3 types of organisms which require biocontrol programmes

Answer 5

Weeds (knotweed)
Insects (spruce bark beetle)
Vertebrates (rabbits)

Question 6

What is interesting about Japanese knot weed ?

Answer 6

It is a clone, largest female in the world

Can be Dioecious, but only female in the UK

Question 7

List the 5 main types of biocontrol agent.

Answer 7

Parasitoids
Viruses
Bacteria 
Insect herbivores 
Insect predators

Question 8

Give a bad example of biological control agents

Answer 8

Cane toad introduced wherever sugar cane was grown
Became a huge pest
Instead had to introduce toad control (mongoose, stoat, predatory ants)

Question 9

List the 3 main types of biocontrol

Answer 9

Classical biological control

Augmentation biological control (Egg parastioid)

Conservation biological control

Question 10

What is classical bio control ?

Answer 10

Introduction and establishment of an exotic natural enemy for control of an exotic pest
(reunite pest with enemy)

Question 11

Does classical biocontrol always work ?

Answer 11

Sometimes, but not always

Question 12

Give the statistics of biocontrol success for arthropods

Answer 12

25% of agents will become established

of these 49% will control the pest

Question 13

Give the statistics of biocontrol success for weeds

Answer 13

30% will be controlled by the natural enemy

Question 14

List the 5 steps in a classical biological control programme

Answer 14

Choose target weed
Foreign exploration for enemy
Host range testing
Field release
Evaluation

Question 15

Give the 2 non target effects of biocontrol.

Answer 15

Direct and Indirect effects

Question 16

Describe the data on non target interactions in biocontrol

Answer 16

Only a handful of studies
Huge amount of anecdotal info
Huge amount of opinion
No data at the level of whole herbivore communities

Question 17

What is the solution for monitoring non target interactions of biocontrol agents ?

Answer 17

Use of a web of species interactions rather than a simple unbranched food chain.

Question 18

Is biocontrol safer than its alternatives on the current regulations ?

Answer 18

Yes, it is as safe or safer

and is often the only option left.

Question 19

What is potentially damaging to biocontrol ?

Answer 19

The controversy surrounding it

Question 20

Give an example of successful biocontrol

Answer 20

Giant salvina in Australia, a weed was controlled by the Weevil
Caused dramatic reduction