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.

Do new Access and Benefit Sharing procedures under the Convention on Biological Diversity threaten the future of biological control

Abstract: Under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) countries have sovereign rights over their genetic resources. Agreements governing the access to these resources and the sharing of the benefits arising from their use need to be established between involved parties [i.e. Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)]. This also applies to species collected for potential use in biological control. Recent applications of CBD principles have already made it difficult or impossible to collect and export natural enemies for biological control research in several countries. If such an approach is widely applied it would impede this very successful and environmentally safe pest management method based on the use of biological diversity. The CBD is required to agree a comprehensive Access and Benefit Sharing process in 2010, in preparation for which the IOBC (International Organization for Biological Control of Noxious Animals and Plants) Global Commission on Biological Control and Access and Benefit Sharing has prepared this position paper. Here, we first describe the practice of biological control in relation to the principles of ABS, illustrated extensively by case studies and successes obtained with biological control. Next, we emphasise the very limited monetary benefits generated in biological control when compared to other fields of ABS such as the collection of germplasm for development of human drugs, chemical pesticides or crop cultivars. Subsequently, we inform the biological control community of good ABS practice and challenges, and we hope to make clear to the community involved in ABS under the CBD the special situation with regard to biological control. Finally, based on the non-commercial academic research model, we make recommendations which would facilitate the practice of collection and exchange of biological control agents, propose a workable framework to assist policy makers and biological control practitioners, and urge biological control leaders in each country to get involved in the discussions with their national ABS contact point to take their needs into consideration.

Preserving accuracy in GenBank

Abstract: GenBank, the public repository for nucleotide and protein sequences, is a critical resource for molecular biology, evolutionary biology, and ecology. While some attention has been drawn to sequence errors ([1][1]), common annotation errors also reduce the value of this database. In fact, for

Linking climate change and species invasion: an illustration using insect herbivores

Abstract: Climate change and invasive species are two of the most important ecological issues facing the world today. Yet, to date these two factors have largely been viewed independently. In order to prevent large-scale economic and environmental damage and as a first step towards predicting and preventing invasions, it is important to understand the factors affecting invasions. Here, we focus on insect herbivores and link the climate change and invasive research fields. We illustrate using existing published research that life history traits can be useful indicators of future invasive potential. However, climate change will also affect propagule pressure and the communities into which invaders will arrive. With the aid of a meta-analysis we show that climate-induced community changes are likely to increase niche-availability in the future, further exacerbating the problem of invasive species. It is timely and important that further research linking these two important ecological threats is undertaken.

Non-crop plants used as hosts by Drosophila suzukii in Europe

Abstract: The invasive spotted wing drosophila Drosophila suzukii, a fruit fly of Asian origin, is a major pest of a wide variety of berry and stone fruits in Europe. One of the characteristics of this fly is its wide host range. A better knowledge of its host range outside cultivated areas is essential to develop sustainable integrated pest management strategies. Field surveys were carried out during two years in Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Fruits of 165 potential host plant species were collected, including mostly wild and ornamental plants. Over 24,000 D. suzukii adults emerged from 84 plant species belonging to 19 families, 38 of which being non-native. Forty-two plants were reported for the first time as hosts of D. suzukii. The highest infestations were found in fruits of the genera Cornus, Prunus, Rubus, Sambucus and Vaccinium as well as in Ficus carica, Frangula alnus, Phytolacca americana and Taxus baccata. Based on these data, management methods are suggested. Ornamental and hedge plants in the vicinity of fruit crops and orchards can be selected according to their susceptibility to D. suzukii. However, the widespread availability and abundance of non-crop hosts and the lack of efficient native parasitoids suggest the need for an area-wide control approach.

Socio-economic impact classification of alien taxa (SEICAT)

Abstract: Many alien taxa are known to cause socio-economic impacts by affecting the different constituents of human well-being (security; material and non-material assets; health; social, spiritual and cultural relations; freedom of choice and action). Attempts to quantify socio-economic impacts in monetary terms are unlikely to provide a useful basis for evaluating and comparing impacts of alien taxa because they are notoriously difficult to measure and important aspects of human well-being are ignored. Here, we propose a novel standardised method for classifying alien taxa in terms of the magnitude of their impacts on human well-being, based on the capability approach from welfare economics. The core characteristic of this approach is that it uses changes in peoples' activities as a common metric for evaluating impacts on well-being. Impacts are assigned to one of five levels, from Minimal Concern to Massive, according to semi-quantitative scenarios that describe the severity of the impacts. Taxa are then classified according to the highest level of deleterious impact that they have been recorded to cause on any constituent of human well-being. The scheme also includes categories for taxa that are not evaluated, have no alien population, or are data deficient, and a method for assigning uncertainty to all the classifications. To demonstrate the utility of the system, we classified impacts of amphibians globally. These showed a variety of impacts on human well-being, with the cane toad (Rhinella marina) scoring Major impacts. For most species, however, no studies reporting impacts on human well-being were found, i.e. these species were data deficient. The classification provides a consistent procedure for translating the broad range of measures and types of impact into ranked levels of socio-economic impact, assigns alien taxa on the basis of the best available evidence of their documented deleterious impacts, and is applicable across taxa and at a range of spatial scales. The system was designed to align closely with the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) and the Red List, both of which have been adopted by the International Union of Nature Conservation (IUCN), and could therefore be readily integrated into international practices and policies.