Biolo logic ical C l Control l of Weeds: s: Reconst nstit - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Biolo logic ical C l Control l of Weeds: s: Reconst nstit itut uting ing G God’s s Plan F. A Allen Dr Dray Jr., Ec Ecologi gist U.S. D . Dept. of of A Agriculture Agricultural R Research Se Service Invas asive Pl Plant t Res esear arch L Lab Fort L t Laude derdal dale, F FL

Humans migrate… (1) Cain ran away… (3) Abraham was called away… (2) Noah floated away… (4) Moses walked away… Credits: (1) Falco (2015) https://pixabay.com/en/church-door-portal-metal-input-753812/ (2) Smith (2002) https://www.theswordbearer.org/images/wallpapers/W017_ark_std.jpg (3) Molnar (1850) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Molnár_Ábrahám_kiköltözése_1850.jpg (4) Rohl (2015) https://www.flickr.com/photos/99714170@N03/16570793350/

Humans migrate… we began millennia ago and are still doing so today (1) Human genetic history (2) International migration 2010-2015 Credits: (1) Wade (2000) The Human Family Tree: 10 Adams and 18 Eves, https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/050200sci-genetics-evolution.html (2) Metrocosm.com (2016) https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/07/the-worlds-immigration-in-one-map/

Humans migrate… bringing other organisms along…intentionally or otherwise e.g., Polynesians settling Hawai’i (3) Gallus gallus (2) Colocasia esculenta (red junglefowl) (taro) (1) Dioscorea bulbifera (air potato) Credits: (1) F. & K. Starr (2009) http://www.starrenvironmental.com/images/image/?q=24966795025 (2) Horikoshi (2016) http://ediblehi.com/poi/ (3) Wee (2017) http://www.besgroup.org/2017/01/13/to-cull-or-not-to-cull-the-red-junglefowl/

Humans migrate… bringing other organisms along…intentionally or otherwise e.g., Polynesians settling Hawai’i (1) Sweet potato invasions of Oceania (2) Ipomoea batata (sweet potato) Credits: (1) Roullier et al (2013) Historical collections reveal patterns of diffusion of sweet potato in Oceania obscured by modern plant movements and recombination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110(6): 2205-2210. (2) Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (2018) http://www.southernexposure.com/images/sweet-potatoes-freshly-dug.jpg

Human movement of organisms… Global homogenization of biotas  Baiser et al (2012) showed that faunas and floras have generally become more similar over time  Some ecologists have begun calling the post-Columbian portion of the Holocene Epoch… the Homogenocene  Geologists have a formal process underway to rename part or all of the (2) Biotic homogenization Holocene…the Anthropocene Credits: (1) Baiser et al (2012) Pattern and process of biotic homogenization in the New Pangea. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 279: 4772-4777. (2) Olden (2013) Biotic homogenization, http://depts.washington.edu/oldenlab/biotic-homogenization/

Exotic species Organisms occurring in habitats where they did not occur in pre-Columbian times Credits: (1) Keys (2013) http://illinoisisam.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-hunt-for-invasive-species-slogans.html

Exotic species … can be benign  Many, perhaps even most, horticultural plants grow only where planted (1) Gold flame honeysuckle ( Lonicera x heckrottii ) Credits: (1)Anonymous (2018) Goldflame honeysuckle, https://www.jacksonandperkins.com/gold-flame-honeysuckle/p/25952/

Exotic species … can be beneficial (2) Honey bees pollinating native CA cactus  European honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) pollinate many native plants (Schlaepfer et al 2011) Credits: (1) Schlaepfer et al (2011) The potential conservation value of non-native species. Conservation Biology 25(3): 428-437. (2) Hung et al (2018) The worldwide importance of honey bees as pollinators in natural habitats. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285:

Exotic organisms … alter ecosystems intentionally (1) Tallgrass prairies (2) Tallgrass prairie remnant (3) Former tallgrass prairie Credits: (1) US-FWS (2010) Land Protection Plan: Flint Hills Legacy Conservation Area, Kansas. https://www.fws.gov/mountain- prairie/refuges/lpp_PDFs/flh_lpp_final_all.pdf (2) Prepelka (2008) Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, http://www.scenicusa.net/101908.html (3) Andorka (2018) https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2018/02/28/bp-backs-20-mw-solar-project-in-kansas/

Exotic organisms … alter ecosystems unintentionally (1) Taxodium ascendens (pond cypress) dome (2) Melaleuca quinquenervia (cajeput) dome Credits: (1) Flynn (2014) http://orchidswamp.org/the-park/natural-history/06-cypress-dome-on-copeland-prairie/ (2) USDA (2004) Melaleuca replacing cypress dome.

Exotic organisms … alter ecosystems unintentionally Some exotic biota become destructive  >4200 species of plants outside of cultivation in Florida (UF-IFAS 2018)  ~3000 are native, the rest introduced  165 are considered invasive FLEPPC (2017)  Half of these are Category I species “Invasive exotics that are altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives.” Credits: (1) UF-IFAS (2018) Plant management in Florida waters – an integrated approach. https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/manage/why-manage-plants/native-plants/ (2) FLEPPC (2017) Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s 2017 List of Invasive Plant Species, http://www.fleppc.org/list/list.htm

Exotic organisms … alter ecosystems These outcomes are considered undesirable by most ecologists, including those of us working in biological control. However, this judgement is not without controversy…  Rosenzweig (2001) “The words ‘good’ and ‘bad’ constitute value judgements and so lie beyond the bounds of science...”  Lay public: “If its green, its good.” (2) Dioscorea bulbifera (air potato) (Hunter 2008) Credits: (1) Rosenzweig (2001) The four questions: what does the introduction of exotic species do to diversity? Evolutionary Ecology Research 3(3): 361-367. (2) Dray (2012) D. bulbifera infestation at Snyder Park, Fort Lauderdale, FL. (3) Hunter (2008) If It’s Green, It’s Good? Invasive Species in our Backyards. https://vimeo.com/10262935

Exotic organisms … alter ecosystems  Of course, from a Christian environmentalist’s perspective “And God saw that it was good.” (1) provides a correct and necessary structural framework within which to make such moral (ethical) judgements.  Thus, loss of species…or destruction of habitats is “wrong” or “bad” because it uncouples biotic communities and relationships that God declared “good”.  "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” (Leopold 1949) Credits: (1) NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (2016) Genesis 1: 9, 12, 18, 25, and 31 (2) Leopold (1949) A Sand County Almanac

Biological control - defined Biological control (biocontrol) is the science of re-associating natural enemies with their hosts in regions where neither the host nor the enemy naturally occurs. The goal is to produce enough stress to the host that it no longer causes problems in its non-native range.

Biological control - defined The goal of biological control is not eradication of the weed. Most biological control projects do not result in “complete” Eliminate control (no other control measures needed) but rather they result in “substantial” Eradicate control in which other methods are needed to reduce the weed to acceptable levels albeit with less effort (Hoffman, 1995). Credits: (1) Hoffman (1995) Biological control of weeds: the way forward, a South African perspective. In: Weeds in a Changing World. British Crop Protection Council Symposium Proceedings no. 64 (ed J. K. Waage) pp. 77–98. The British Crop Protection Council, Farnham

Biological control – the process  Foreign surveys (find the critters)  Quarantine studies (make sure they’re safe)  Release & establishment (get them into the field)  Long-term monitoring (determine effectiveness)  Redistribution (move them around if necessary)  Technology transfer (help others use the critters) Credits: (1) USACE (1998) https://el.erdc.dren.mil/apis/Biocontrol/ProcessMain.aspx

Biological control – the process

Biological control - safety

Biological control - safety The Centrifugal Method (Phylogenetic)  Target species: Dioscorea bulbifera  U.S. congeners: Dioscorea villosa & D. floridana  Caribbean/MesoAmerican congeners: D. (R.) cordata, D. trifida  Exotic congeners in U.S.: D. polystachya  Congeners that are T & E: none  Economically important congeners: D. alata & D. cayennensis  Other families within order (Dioscoreales): Burmanniaceae  Closely related orders: Pandanales (eg, Croomia pauciflora )  Representatives from superorder Lilianae: eg, Crinum americanum  Economically important non-Lilianae: eg, Solanum tuberosum  Ecologically important habitat associates: Smilax laurifolia (FL T&E)  Species fed upon by proposed bioagent congeners (eg, Lilium sp)

Biological control - safety Lilioceris egena 82 spp, 46 families, 25 orders