The development and control of the 1984 plague of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera (Walker)

Wright, D. E.; Symmons, P. M.

doi:10.1016/0261-2194(87)90022-6

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…(6) Rates of muhiplication from base level populations In the model an 18-fold multiplication rate was assumed for 'successful' breeding based on field estimates of Farrow (1979) and Symmons and Wright (1981). This means that swarm density adults can be produced in two generations of'successful' breeding from the low level of populations recorded during droughts Wright & Symmons 1987). 'Successful' breeding occurs in the model when all the aforementioned conditions for survival and laying are met.…”

Section: Simulation Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) became operational in mid-1977 and, as well as carrying out survey and control, continued research on C. terminifera to improve control. This included a detailed study on the population dynamics of all the recorded major plagues (Wright 1983;Wright & Symmons 1987) which tested the likelihood of origin in the arid interior against that of local agricultural country breeding. This report is a summary of the results of that research and discusses their implications for survey and control.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of the development of major plagues of the Australian plague locust Chortoicetes terminifera (Walker) using a simulation model

Wright

1987

Australian Journal of Ecology

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The development and decline of all the past major plagues of Chortoicetes terminifera in Australia has been analysed using all available locust data and a simulation model to estimate the course of events for periods when few locusts were reported. The model is based on the developmental biology of the locust and tnchides methods of estimating the duration of egg. nymphal and adult development and uses a pasture growth index and potential night displacement index to assess likely survival and migration.The analysis shows that five ofthe six plagues originated in the arid interior, where good spring and summer rain allowed two or three consecutive generations of successful breeding, before emigration to the agricuhural country occurred in the late summer or early autumn. This is contrary to the idea held previously that most plagues developed from local bi'eeding in established outbreak areas in the agricultural belt. The applications of these results, to improve population monitoring and control strategy' by suggesting the best timing for surveys and when control would have most effect, are discussed.

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Section: Simulation Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the development of major plagues of the Australian plague locust Chortoicetes terminifera (Walker) using a simulation model

Wright

1987

Australian Journal of Ecology

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“…For example, because of a historical absence of entomological expertise in central Australia many of the surveys that have been undertaken there have been (1) Ôsnap shotÕ surveys of short duration targeting species for taxonomic research or for new locality and temporal records (e.g., GrifÞn 1979, Allsopp andLloyd 1987), or (2) longer term surveys of invertebrates whose identiÞcations are at high taxonomic ranks (often at ordinal level or at least reported at ordinal level) to indicate food availability for vertebrates (e.g., Read 1987, GilÞllan 2001. Other, more speciÞc studies in the arid zone have examined the effects of climate on abundance, phenology and migration of pest species such as the Australian plague locust Chortoicetes terminifera (Walker) (e.g., Wright and Symmons 1987), the Australian bushßy Musca vetustissima (Walker) (e.g., Hughes et al 1972), and the native budworm Helicoverpa punctigera (Wallengren) (e.g., Oertel et al 1999). Another study reported the effects of precipitation on butterßy species diversity and migration Australia-wide (Dingle et al 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

Chronological Changes in Terrestrial Insect Assemblages in the Arid Zone of Australia

Palmer¹

2010

env. entom.

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Arid and semiarid environments are characterized by highly unpredictable and 'pulsed' availability of essential biological resources. The 'boom and bust' response of many vertebrates is commonly invoked for invertebrates and especially insects. This perception of the Australian arid zone is exacerbated by the lack of long-term surveys of insects identified at high levels of taxonomic resolution. From an 18 mo continuous survey of insects in central Australia I determine the phenology of many insect taxa, and clarify which climatic variables most influenced the activity of these taxa. Total abundance and taxon richness were higher in the warmer months and lower in the cooler months. Minimum temperature, rainfall during the survey month, and rainfall during the previous month had significant effects on phenology, demonstrating that there is pronounced and predictable activity of many species in the absence of rain, although rainfall has a marked effect on the activity of some species. Other species were more active or only active in the coolest months. These findings have implications for the most productive time for surveys in the Australian arid zone, the availability of insects as prey or pollinators, and for the potential effects of climate change.

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“…How and why these outbreaks and plagues occur is not yet completely understood; however, it does appear that the timing of certain environmental events, most notably rainfall in the semi-arid interior of Australia which allows breeding, is critical (Casimir 1962, Wright 1983, Wright & Symmons 1987. Emigration of adults from these source areas in pastoral Queensland into the agricultural belt in south eastern Australia may then take place since the plague locust has the ability to migrate up to 500 km overnight if conditions are suitable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Likely locust infestation areas in western New South Wales, Australia, located by satellite

Bryceson

1991

Geocarto International

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A retrospective investigation was undertaken of the area around Broken Hill in the Western region of New South Wales, where Australian plague locust (Chortoicetes terminifera) nymphal band control took place during September -November (spring) of 1987. Processed Landsat-5 multispectralscanner data for March 1987 were used to locate the likely spring/summer locust infestation areas using habitat type, condition and soil type as the delineating parameters. The results show that a vegetation index (indicating the degree of vegetation greeness in an area) is useful for predicting where locusts are most likely to aggregate, a classification of vegetation types is needed for determining likely breeding sites, and that there is an additional relationship between soils/geology and the location of locust infestations. These results are discussed in relation to the future operational use of the techniques in the Australian Plague Locust Commission. SummaryA Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) and a Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used to determine habitat type and condition respectively. A Soil Brightness Transformation (SBT) using bands 6 and 4 was investigated as a method of indicating soil type in the area based on the resultant density sliced 'brightness' values.Thematic maps at 1:250 000 scale were produced for all classification techniques and ground truth surveys showed that the classifications had, in general, a greater than 80% accuracy.The SBT results indicated that 88% of band targets were in areas with brightness values associated with areas defined on geological/soil maps as either floodplains of black and grey clayey silt and sand, flat to gently undulating plains of red and brown clayey sand, loam and lateritic soils, or colluvial deposits of poorly sorted sand. The NDVI analysis showed that 75% of all targets were in areas of green vegetation, and the MLC analysis revealed 70% of targets were in grassed or natural pasture areas.A historical survey of locust data was carried out and known infestations between 1971 and 1987 plotted against the ancilliary geology/soil data. It was found that the majority of infestations occurred on 3 main geological/soil groups: 20% on floodplains of black and grey clayey silt and sand, 42% on flat to gently undulating plains of red and brown clayey sand, loam and lateritic soils and 26% on colluvial

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The development and control of the 1984 plague of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera (Walker)

Cited by 15 publications

References 5 publications

Analysis of the development of major plagues of the Australian plague locust Chortoicetes terminifera (Walker) using a simulation model

Analysis of the development of major plagues of the Australian plague locust Chortoicetes terminifera (Walker) using a simulation model

Chronological Changes in Terrestrial Insect Assemblages in the Arid Zone of Australia

Likely locust infestation areas in western New South Wales, Australia, located by satellite

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