A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Appearance of pathogens within outbreak populations of native insect populations in New Zealand
The Gondwanaland remnant of Aotearoa-New Zealand developed a unique flora and fauna over >60 million years. When settlers introduced European grasses and clovers they initially grew spectacularly in the absence of their usual pest complex. However, some native insects were capable of adapting to the new resources and reached unprecedented numbers destroying the developing pastures. After a temporary respite from use of broad spectrum chemicals, an uneasy balance of nature has been reached across New Zealand grasslands, except where major new land conversions has caused fresh pest outbreaks. On the New Zealand West Coast, ‘flipping” of swamps to create new pastures has reset the conditions to total environmental disruption. After initial vigorous pasture growth, a species previously unknown as a pest, Pyronota feastiva (Manuka beetle), has reached numbers exceeding 1000/m2 within 5 years of land development. The enemy release hypothesis states that invasive animals and plants thrive in new environments due to the lack of natural enemies present in their home range. While this hypothesis has generally been investigated for exotic invasions around the world, invading organisms can also be indigenous, having moved into new or disrupted ecosystems. Research has indicated a growing awareness of the importance of pathogens in population regulation and points to the importance of specificity in the host pathogen relationship. However, specific evolved relationships cannot explain the rapid development of epizootics of disease in invasive pest populations. We have recently discovered infection by fungi and Rickettsiella in the Manuka beetle population. We will present and discuss our findings in relation to the appearance of microbial pathogens and their role in regulating new pest populations.
Appearance of pathogens within outbreak populations of native insect populations in New Zealand
The Gondwanaland remnant of Aotearoa-New Zealand developed a unique flora and fauna over >60 million years. When settlers introduced European grasses and clovers they initially grew spectacularly in the absence of their usual pest complex. However, some native insects were capable of adapting to the new resources and reached unprecedented numbers destroying the developing pastures. After a temporary respite from use of broad spectrum chemicals, an uneasy balance of nature has been reached across New Zealand grasslands, except where major new land conversions has caused fresh pest outbreaks. On the New Zealand West Coast, ‘flipping” of swamps to create new pastures has reset the conditions to total environmental disruption. After initial vigorous pasture growth, a species previously unknown as a pest, Pyronota feastiva (Manuka beetle), has reached numbers exceeding 1000/m2 within 5 years of land development. The enemy release hypothesis states that invasive animals and plants thrive in new environments due to the lack of natural enemies present in their home range. While this hypothesis has generally been investigated for exotic invasions around the world, invading organisms can also be indigenous, having moved into new or disrupted ecosystems. Research has indicated a growing awareness of the importance of pathogens in population regulation and points to the importance of specificity in the host pathogen relationship. However, specific evolved relationships cannot explain the rapid development of epizootics of disease in invasive pest populations. We have recently discovered infection by fungi and Rickettsiella in the Manuka beetle population. We will present and discuss our findings in relation to the appearance of microbial pathogens and their role in regulating new pest populations.
Appearance of pathogens within outbreak populations of native insect populations in New Zealand
Townsend, R. (author) / Marshall, S. (author) / Leclerque, Andreas (author) / Kleespies, Regina G. (author) / Nelson, T. (author) / Jackson, T. A. (author)
2010-01-01
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Estimating Percent Within Limits for Skewed Populations
| British Library Online Contents | 2006