Variation in cool temperature performance between populations of Neochetina eichhorniae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and implications for the biological control of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in a temperate climate

Reddy, Angelica M.; Pratt, Paul D.; Hopper, Julie V.; Cibils–Stewart, Ximena; Walsh, Guillermo Cabrera; Kay, Fernando Mc

doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2018.09.016

Cited by 23 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The CT min of the Kubusi River population was much higher than that reported by Porter et al (2019) [CT min = −0.3 ∘ C ± 0.063 (SE)] for E. catarinensis at the exact same site, yet comparable to the results of Griffith et al (2019) for the latter species [from 4.8 ∘ C ± 0.3 (SE) in summer to 3.6 ∘ C ± 0.3 (SE) in winter]. Furthermore, it is slightly higher than the CT min of 1.1 ∘ C ± 0.2 (SE) for Kubusi River N. eichhorniae recorded by Reddy et al (2019). This highlights the need for multiple biocontrol agents at some sites, each with different low-temperature performance, but also that thermal performance can be variable within and among species.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

Low‐temperature physiology of climatically distinct south African populations of the biological control agent Neochetina eichhorniae

Rogers

Terblanche

Owen

2020

Ecological Entomology

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1. Neochetina eichhorniae is the most widely established biocontrol agent on water hyacinth populations around South Africa. However, some N. eichhorniae populations have failed to adequately control their host population, specifically those exposed to cold conditions.2. The aim of this study was to determine whether two climatically distinct populations of N. eichhorniae in South Africa differ in their low-temperature physiology, which tests whether local-climate adaptation has occurred.3. We estimated weevil CT min , LLT 50 , SCP, and SCP mortality using standard approaches. Contrary to expectation based on climatic thermal profiles at the two sites, weevils from the warm locality ((mean ± SE) CT min = 5.0 ∘ C ± 0.2, LLT 50 = −11.3 ∘ C ± 0.03, SCP = −15.8 ∘ C ± 0.6) were able to maintain activity and tolerate colder temperatures than the weevils from the colder site (CT min = 6.0 ∘ C ± 0.5, LLT 50 = −10.1 ∘ C ± 0.1, SCP = −12.9 ∘ C ± 0.8).4. These contradictory outcomes are likely explained by the poor nutrient quality of the plants at the cold site, driving low-temperature performance variation that overrode any macroclimate variation among sites. The cold site weevils may also have adapted to survive wide-temperature variability, rather than perform well under very cold conditions. In contrast, the mass-reared population of insects from the warm site has likely adapted to the consistent conditions that they experience over many years in confinement.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

Low‐temperature physiology of climatically distinct south African populations of the biological control agent Neochetina eichhorniae

Rogers

Terblanche

Owen

2020

Ecological Entomology

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“…Acquiring new genotypes may be a more effective and efficient use of limited resources as compared to investigating new agent species in the native range. Demand for expanding biological control across a target weed's entire (or more temperate) range is often driven by the established agent's observed efficacy in a subset of the range [10,49]. Agasicles hygrophila Selman and Vogt (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) provides complete control of A. philoxeroides in the plant's most southern distribution in the eastern USA but provides inadequate control in more temperate zones [24,50].…”

Section: Traditional Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…that originate in the tropics but were introduced to, and readily invade, subtropical and temperate areas. Biological control programs for these invaders have resulted in regional success but agents are often more limited in their distribution than their target weeds [9][10][11][12] (i.e., Figure 1c). Efforts to improve biological control in underperforming regions has mostly been carried out by teams working without a cohesive conceptual framework that describes the problem, how to measure it, and possible strategies to address it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In New Zealand, genetic bottlenecks upon importation of the heather beetle (Lochmaea suturalis (Thomson) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)) are thought to have led to poor establishment and overwintering survival in introduced populations [47]. In contrast, Neochetina eichhorniae Warner (Coleoptera: Brachyceridae) was imported into Australia from the USA where, subsequently, populations were found to be more cold tolerant [10] and less genetically diverse [48] than several USA populations. To reduce the importance of founder effects and reduced genetic diversity in introduced agent populations, multiple introductions from various source areas could be accomplished [48], although this may increase the regulatory burden for scientists if safety assessments are required for all unique source populations (see Section 7).…”

Section: Genetic Bottlenecks Post-introduction Evolution and Hybridsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate Mismatch between Introduced Biological Control Agents and Their Invasive Host Plants: Improving Biological Control of Tropical Weeds in Temperate Regions

Harms

Knight

Pratt

et al. 2021

Insects

Self Cite

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Many weed biological control programs suffer from large-scale spatial variation in success due to restricted distributions or abundances of agents in temperate climates. For some of the world’s worst aquatic weeds, agents are established but overwintering conditions limit their survival in higher latitudes or elevations. The resulting need is for new or improved site- or region-specific biological control tools. Here, we review this challenge with a focus on low-temperature limitations of agents and propose a roadmap for improving success. Investigations across spatial scales, from global (e.g., foreign exploration), to local (selective breeding), to individual organisms (molecular modification), are discussed. A combination of traditional (foreign) and non-traditional (introduced range) exploration may lead to the discovery and development of better-adapted agent genotypes. A multivariate approach using ecologically relevant metrics to quantify and compare cold tolerance among agent populations is likely required. These data can be used to inform environmental niche modeling combined with mechanistic modeling of species’ fundamental climate niches and life histories to predict where, when, and at what abundance agents will occur. Finally, synthetic and systems biology approaches in conjunction with advanced modern genomics, gene silencing and gene editing technologies may be used to identify and alter the expression of genes enhancing cold tolerance, but this technology in the context of weed biological control has not been fully explored.

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“…High genetic variance in life history and abiotic stress tolerance traits may allow researchers to screen for strains or populations that could adapt to future climatic conditions [34]. For instance, Reddy et al [35 ] compared four biotypes of the weevil, Neochetina Eichhorniae Warner (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a biocontrol agent of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms.…”

Section: Evolutionary Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocontrol of invasive weeds under climate change: progress, challenges and management implications

Sun

Ding

Siemann

et al. 2020

Current Opinion in Insect Science

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Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and impact of plant invasions, creating a need for new control strategies as part of mitigation planning. The complex interactions between invasive plants and biocontrol agents have created distinct policy and management challenges, including the effectiveness and risk assessment of biocontrol under different climate change scenarios. In this brief review, we synthesize recent studies describing the potential ecological and evolutionary outcomes for biocontrol agents/ candidates for plant invaders under climate change. We also discuss potential methodologies that can be used as a framework for predicting ecological and evolutionary responses of plant-natural enemy interactions under climate change, and for refining our understanding of the efficacy and risk of using biocontrol on invasive plants.

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Variation in cool temperature performance between populations of Neochetina eichhorniae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and implications for the biological control of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in a temperate climate

Cited by 23 publications

References 43 publications

Low‐temperature physiology of climatically distinct south African populations of the biological control agent Neochetina eichhorniae

Low‐temperature physiology of climatically distinct south African populations of the biological control agent Neochetina eichhorniae

Climate Mismatch between Introduced Biological Control Agents and Their Invasive Host Plants: Improving Biological Control of Tropical Weeds in Temperate Regions

Biocontrol of invasive weeds under climate change: progress, challenges and management implications

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