Reduction of noncrop habitats, intensive use of pesticides and high levels of disturbance associated with intensive crop production simplify the farming landscape and bring about a sharp decline of biodiversity. This, in turn, weakens the biological control ecosystem service provided by arthropod natural enemies. Strategic use of flowering plants to enhance plant biodiversity in a well-targeted manner can provide natural enemies with food sources and shelter to improve biological control and reduce dependence on chemical pesticides. This article reviews the nutritional value of various types of plant-derived food for natural enemies, possible adverse effects on pest management, and the practical application of flowering plants in orchards, vegetables and field crops, agricultural systems where most research has taken place. Prospects for more effective use of flowering plants to maximize biological control of insect pests in agroecosystem are good but depend up on selection of optimal plant species based on information on the ecological mechanisms by which natural enemies are selectively favored over pest species.
The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens, whitebacked planthopper (WBPH) Sogatella furcifera and smaller BPH Laodelphax striatellus increasingly exhibit resistance to insecticides and adaptation to resistant varieties, so they threaten food security. This review draws together, for the first time, information on the parasitoids of planthopper pests of rice from the non-English literature published in Asia. This is integrated with the English language literature to provide a comprehensive analysis. Planthopper pests of rice are attacked by a large range of parasitoids from Strepsiptera, Diptera and, especially, Hymenoptera. Levels of field parasitism vary widely between parasitoid species and locations. For many taxa, especially within Mymaridae, there is evidence that non-crop habitats are important as overwintering habitat in which alternative hosts are available. These source habitats may promote early season parasitism of pest Hemiptera in rice crops, and their movement into crops could be manipulated with applications of herbivoreinduced plant volatiles. Non-crop plants can also provide nectar to improve parasitoid longevity and fecundity. Despite evidence for the importance of environmental factors affecting parasitoids of rice pests, the use of habitat manipulation to enhance biological control in the world's most important crop is surprisingly underrepresented in the literature. Current research in China, Vietnam and Thailand on ecological engineering, carefully selected vegetation diversity introduced without disrupting profitable farming, is briefly reported. Although the most important pest, BPH (N. lugens), is a migratory species, maintaining local communities of parasitoids and other natural enemies offers scope to prevent even r-selected pests from reaching damaging population densities.
Young Aboriginal fathers face social and emotional challenges in the transition to fatherhood, yet culturally appropriate support mechanisms are lacking. Peer mentoring to develop online- and mobile phone-based resources and support may be a viable approach to successfully engage these young men. This feasibility study engaged two trusted Aboriginal mentors and researchers to partner with one regional and two rural Aboriginal communities in New South Wales, Australia. Early in the research process, 20 young Aboriginal fathers were recruited as co-investigators. These fathers were integral in the development of web-based resources and testing of mobile phone-based text messaging and mood-tracking programs tailored to provide fathering and mental health support. Overwhelmingly positive feedback from evaluations reinforced community pride in and ownership of the outcomes. The young men's involvement was instrumental in not only developing culturally appropriate support, but also in building their capacity as role models for other fathers in the community. The positive results from this feasibility study support the adoption of participatory approaches in the development of resources for Aboriginal communities.
Objective: This evaluation considered the potential of We-Yarn, a suicide prevention gatekeeper training workshop, to contribute to Aboriginal suicide prevention in rural New South Wales. Design: A mixed methods approach included surveys, in-depth interviews and workshop observations. Setting: Aboriginal suicide prevention training in rural New South Wales, Australia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.