Biology, ecology, and impact of Cryptonevra nigritarsis Duda, a potential biological control agent against the giant reed Arundo donax

Escobar, Yaël; Guermache, Fatiha; Bon, Marie‐Claude; Kerdellant, Elven; Petoux, Louis; Desurmont, Gaylord A.

doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2020.104287

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…A recent example of successfully integrated biological control of an invasive grass in North America is giant reed (Arundo donax L., Poaceae). Reduction in giant reed growth and reproductive output was achieved using a suite of host specific arthropods from its native Mediterranean habitat including monophagous leaf-mining midges (Goolsby et al 2017), scale bugs ), stem-galling flies (Escobar et al 2020) and stem-galling wasps . The success of this programme along riparian corridors throughout North America is largely attributable to the sustainability and amount of damage inflicted on giant reed culm biomass by the gall wasp population (Moran et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arthropod associates of Kenyan buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris): a field survey for biological control candidates of a globally important invasive grass

Morrison,

Plowes,

Ng’iru

et al. 2023

Afr. Entomol.

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Invasive species are the second largest contributor to biodiversity loss and drivers of ecosystem change. Buffelgrass is a C4, perennial grass native to Africa and Asia that was widely introduced across tropical and subtropical rangelands as livestock forage. Buffelgrass reduces native biodiversity and ecosystem stability in its introduced range when it escapes livestock pastures. Understanding the ecology of insects associated with buffelgrass in its native range may provide an understanding of invasion processes and biological control opportunities where buffelgrass has become an invasive challenge. Here, we present the results of a six-year survey of herbivorous arthropods of a native buffelgrass population from Kenya. Buffelgrass was examined for externally and internally feeding insects of vegetative and reproductive tissues. We also categorised buffelgrass detritivores and parasitoids that may use buffelgrass herbivores as hosts. The samples were photographed and Sanger sequenced to identify them to the lowest possible taxonomic ranking. We collected information on sample abundances, phenologies, tissues consumed, and putative diet breadths. We identified 25 morphospecies representing seven orders and 16 families. The putative host plant specialisation was as high as 67% for Diptera. Phenological variation in herbivore presence correlated with seasonal rainfall and provided a guide for when to conduct follow-up biological control agent searches. The most abundant herbivore was a gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) that inhabits buffelgrass culms. Additional research should focus on bringing this species into containment where host choice trials can be conducted to determine if it is truly monophagous and assess its impact on buffelgrass growth.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arthropod associates of Kenyan buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris): a field survey for biological control candidates of a globally important invasive grass

Morrison,

Plowes,

Ng’iru

et al. 2023

Afr. Entomol.

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“…However, the scarcity of the basic resource such as water condemns the communities to perceive the vulnerability in their agricultural production (Table 3) and, in the worst case, the failure in the final crop [60]. Undoubtedly, the high costs of making investments in water conduction to distant homes entail a great situational problem, causing a climate of disillusionment and family deficit that affects the household, employment, education, migration and population development [62].…”

Section: A Social Approach and Hydric Needs Of The Galte Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the potential solutions may be reached by taking advantage of the fog of the place to supply water to community sectors where this resource is not available. The fog-catcher that will be implemented will attempt to collect water based on a one square meter mesh that is used as an obstacle in which the small, evaporated drops collide and become trapped [55,62]. The fogging systems that are proposed may not fully meet the previously described needs: communities do not need to obtain 100% water from the fog for irrigation, but a certain amount that allows them to irrigate crops on days when water is scarce and there is not enough for their agricultural production to develop on a regular basis [63].…”

Section: A Social Approach and Hydric Needs Of The Galte Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each tower was built individually, with an easy assembly and transportation to the implantation site. As the Ecuadorian mountain region is not able to grow bamboo for the "Urku Yaku" construction, the main material used was wild cane or giant reed, also known as "Arundo donax" [62]. This grass has been considered as an invasive plant in many subtropical, tropical and temperate regions all over the globe [65][66][67].…”

Section: "Urku Yaku" Design and Assemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Potential Solutions for the Water Shortage Using Towers of Fog Collectors in a High Andean Community in Central Ecuador

2023

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The lack of water is a fundamental issue for survival of peasant communities located at heights above 3200 masl in the Andean highlands, such as in the case of the Galte-Yaguachi community in central Ecuador. The social balance, agricultural development as well as animal subsistence and finally the economic income is pending on the availability of hydric resources. Therefore, a three-dimensional fog collector system was constructed with Urku Yaku material in order to provide water for the close-by community. Simultaneously, we determined the quality of the collected water per square meter of the mesh, during the period of the highest annual precipitations. The installed nets yielded a gain of at least 2.63 L/m2 and a minimum of 0.65 L/m2 per day. The analyzed water quality reflected the suitability for human consumption. As water collection has been successful, an expansion of the proposed system may provide this fundamental good also to other communities with similar characteristics. Fog catcher towers will produce 26,577.84 m3/year of water, fulfilling crops’ needs, and the economic analysis proves it is worth the investment, as demonstrated by a benefit cost ratio of 1.90.

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“…donax in the Mediterranean region where this grass is considered to be an ancient introduction [ 1 , 21 ]. Additional arthropod agents are under evaluation for biocontrol, including a leaf-mining fly, Lasioptera donacis Coutin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), which was released but did not establish [ 22 ], and a shoot-feeding chloropid fly, Cryptonevra nigritarsis Duda (Diptera: Chloropidae), which was rejected based on lab and field studies [ 23 ]. There have been preliminary investigations into the use of microbial pathogens for Ar.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology of an Adventive Population of the Armored Scale Rhizaspidiotus donacis, a Biological Control Agent of Arundo donax in California

Braman

Lambert

Özsoy

et al. 2021

Insects

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Arundo donax (giant reed) is invasive in Mediterranean, sub-, and tropical riparian systems worldwide. The armored scale Rhizaspidiotus donacis is approved for biocontrol in North America, but an adventive population was recently discovered in southern California. We documented this population’s distribution, phylogeny, phenology, potential host spillover to Phragmites spp., and potential for parasitism by a common biocontrol parasitoid of citrus scale. The adventive scale was found within a single watershed and is genetically closest to Iberian scale genotypes. Rhizaspidiotus donacis developed on Phragmites haplotypes but at much lower densities than Arundo. The adventive population is univoltine, producing crawlers from March-June. Aphytis melinus parasitoids exhibited sustained interest in R. donacis during choice and no-choice trials and oviposition resulted in a small second generation. Rhizaspidiotus donacis appears limited in distribution by its univoltinism and sessile adult females. This presents challenges for broad biocontrol implementation but allows for targeted application. The genetic differentiation between imported biocontrol samples and adventive populations presents an opportunity for exploring benefits of hybrids and/or alternative genotypes where establishment has been difficult. While unlikely to occur in situ, spillover to vulnerable endemic Phragmites or deleterious parasitoid effects on scale biocontrol agents warrants consideration when planning use of R. donacis.

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Biology, ecology, and impact of Cryptonevra nigritarsis Duda, a potential biological control agent against the giant reed Arundo donax

Cited by 3 publications

References 22 publications

Arthropod associates of Kenyan buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris): a field survey for biological control candidates of a globally important invasive grass

Arthropod associates of Kenyan buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris): a field survey for biological control candidates of a globally important invasive grass

Potential Solutions for the Water Shortage Using Towers of Fog Collectors in a High Andean Community in Central Ecuador

Biology of an Adventive Population of the Armored Scale Rhizaspidiotus donacis, a Biological Control Agent of Arundo donax in California

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