CABI

About: CABI is a nonprofit organization based out in Wallingford, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Introduced species. The organization has 789 authors who have published 1759 publications receiving 73843 citations. The organization is also known as: Centre for Biosciences and Agriculture International.

A global strategy to defeat invasive species.

Abstract: In “black carp and sick cows” (Editorial, 13 Apr., p. [169][1]), Donald Kennedy illustrates that globalization of trade, travel, and transport can have unintended negative consequences, namely, the relocation and establishment of invasive species ([1][2]). He is justifiably concerned that there is too little awareness of this international threat and no general strategy for dealing with the invaders. In 1996, this same concern was voiced by representatives of 80 countries and the United Nations ([2][3]). This led The Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, The World Conservation Union, CAB International, and invasive species experts from a wide array of disciplines to establish the Global Invasive Species Program (GISP) in 1997. GISP's mission is to employ its scientific and technical expertise to increase the ability of all nations to minimize the spread and impact of invasive species. In its first phase of operations, GISP has produced four books ([3][4]) and designed a database for the world's worst invaders ( ) and a toolkit of best management practices. GISP's global strategy recommends actions that governments and other bodies can take to address the invasive species problem. Its recommendations informed the development of the United States' first national invasive species management plan, released by the National Invasive Species Council in January (available at ). GISP's studies indicate that prevention is more economical and feasible than controlling outbreaks of invasives. Thus, the improvement of prevention systems and their expansion to incorporate agricultural and environmental threats should be an international goal. Many invasive species have “lag periods” after introduction when small populations can be eradicated or contained; therefore, limited resources are best expended to detect and respond to newly established invasives. Ultimately, a nation's ability to address its invasive species problems is determined by its access to global information sources, the strength of its taxonomic capacity, and its willingness to cooperate with other countries. 1. [↵][5]“Invasive species” means an alien (non-native) species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. U.S. Executive Order 13112, 3 Feb. 1999. 2. [↵][6]1. O. T. Sandland 2. et al. , Ed. Norway/United Nations Conference on Alien Species (Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management and Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway, 1996). 3. [↵][7]1. J.A. McNeely , Ed. The Great Reshuffling: Human Dimensions of Invasive Alien Species (World Conservation Union, Cambridge, MA, 2001) H. A. Mooney, R. J. Hobbs, Eds., Invasive Species in a Changing World (Island Press, Washington, DC, 2000);C. Perrings et al., Eds., The Economics of Biological Invasions (Edwar Elgar, Northampton, MA, 2000);C. Shine et al., A Guide to Designing Legal and Institutional Frameworks on Alien Invasive Species (IUCN, World Conservation Union, Bonn, Germany, 2000). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.292.5515.169 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #ref-3 [5]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [6]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [7]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text"

Are traded forest tree seeds a potential source of nonnative pests

Abstract: The international seed trade is considered relatively safe from a phytosanitary point of view and is therefore less regulated than trade in other plants for planting. However, the pests carried by traded seeds are not well known. We assessed insects and fungi in 58 traded seed lots of 11 gymnosperm and angiosperm tree species from North America, Europe, and Asia. Insects were detected by X‐raying and molecular methods. The fungal community was characterized using high‐throughput sequencing (HTS) and by growing fungi on non‐selective agar. About 30% of the seed lots contained insect larvae. Gymnosperms contained mostly hymenopteran (Megastigmus spp.) and dipteran (Cecidomyiidae) larvae, while angiosperms contained lepidopteran (Cydia latiferreana) and coleopteran (Curculio spp.) larvae. HTS indicated the presence of fungi in all seed lots and fungi grew on non‐selective agar from 96% of the seed lots. Fungal abundance and diversity were much higher than insect diversity and abundance, especially in angiosperm seeds. Almost 50% of all fungal exact sequence variants (ESVs) found in angiosperms were potential pathogens, in comparison with around 30% of potentially pathogenic ESVs found in gymnosperms. The results of this study indicate that seeds may pose a greater risk of pest introduction than previously believed or accounted for. A rapid risk assessment suggests that only a small number of species identified in this study is of phytosanitary concern. However, more research is needed to enable better risk assessment, especially to increase knowledge about the potential for transmission of fungi to seedlings and the host range and impact of identified species.

Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae var. nov.: a fungal agent for the biological control of Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)

Abstract: Clearly defining the taxonomic identity of a potential biocontrol agent is an essential component of any biological control programme. As part of such a programme against Impatiens glandulifera, a highly invasive annual weed in both Europe and North America, the rust fungus Puccinia komarovii was collected on this host plant in its native Himalayan range. However, current literature indicates that P. komarovii is a pathogen of a number of Impatiens species globally and was described originally from I. parviflora, a species native to Asia and now naturalized in Europe. Morphological comparisons, based on urediniospore and teliospore measurements, were generally inconclusive in showing any clear differences between the accession from I. glandulifera and those from other Impatiens species. Both, nrDNA ITS and ITS2-LSU sequence analyses indicated a difference between the rust infecting I. glandulifera compared to accessions on other hosts. However, the large variations in both ITS and 28S (ITS2-LSU) sequences determined within single accessions in this study, makes a clear separation difficult. Cross-inoculation experiments, using one accession of P. komarovii ex I. glandulifera (from India) and two accessions of P. komarovii ex I. parviflora (from China and Hungary), confirmed the specificity of these strains to their original hosts. Two Himalayan Impatiens species, I. scabrida and I. brachycentra, showed varying levels of susceptibility to these rust accessions, where the former was weakly susceptible to all three accessions and the latter was weakly susceptible only to P. komarovii ex I. parviflora (from China). However, commercial cultivars of I. balsamina proved to be fully susceptible to all rust accessions, although this has not been demonstrated under field conditions in India. Based on these host specificity differences between the rust accessions, we propose a new variety: Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae var. nov. associated with I. glandulifera in the Himalayas.

An ecological comparison of Impatiens glandulifera Royle in the native and introduced range

Abstract: Understanding the ecology of plant species in their whole range (native and introduced) can provide insights into those that become problematic weeds in the introduced range despite being benign components of the vegetative community in the native range. We studied the morphological traits of Impatiens glandulifera in the native (Indian Himalayas) and introduced (UK) range and evaluated what influences natural enemies and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have on plant performance. We compared height, total leaf area, root: shoot ratio, natural enemy damage and the colonisation of AMF from individual plants within and between ranges twice in 2010 during the months of June and August. In addition, in August 2010, we estimated the number of reproductive units (expressed as the sum of flowers, seed capsule and seeds) at each site. We found that all morphological traits varied between populations and countries, though in general introduced populations, and the semi-natural population in India, showed higher performance compared to natural native populations. There was only an indication that natural enemy damage, which was significantly higher in the native range, negatively affected reproductive units. Within the introduced range, the percentage colonisation of AMF was negatively associated with plant performance indicating that I. glandulifera may associate with an incompatible AMF species incurring a cost to invasive populations. We conclude that species which are heavily regulated in the native range, though still show high levels of performance, should be considered undesirable introductions into similar ecoclimatic ranges due to the potential that these species will become highly invasive species.