Integrating herbicide rates, coverage, and classical biological control insects (Megamelus scutellaris, Neochetina eichhorniae,and Neochetina bruchi) to manage Pontederia (Eichhornia) crassipes

Herbivore suppression of waterlettuce in Florida, USA

“…Management of aquatic invasive plants relies on continuous and consistent funding to keep plant populations from obstructing navigable waterways and control structures (Schmitz et al, 1993, Schardt, 2016, Gettys et al, 2020. Biological control organisms, when combined with reduced herbicide application rates, can work synergistically to suppress waterhyacinth by increasing their susceptibility to herbicides which, in turn, decreases the number of herbicide applications required to reach management goals (Tipping et al, 2017, Goode et al, 2022. Whether the impact of herbivores on waterlettuce can produce similar synergies with herbicides awaits further studies.…”

“…This approach usually results in the repeated and wide scale use of herbicides by agencies including FWCC which spent $15 million in FY2018-2019 spraying 63,796 acres of aquatic weeds, including waterlettuce, on public waters (FWC, 2019). This herbicide-centric management strategy ignores the contribution of herbivores and biological control agents despite evidence of the utility of integrating them with herbicide rates and spray patterns to improve overall control and program sustainability (Tipping et al, 2017;Lake & Minteer, 2018;Goode et al, 2022). The lack of integration of biological control with current management strategies for floating aquatic weeds (i.e., waterlettuce and waterhyacinth) may be explained, in part, by skepticism and a lack of understanding of the role of the population level impacts of herbivores.…”

Toxicological Interaction Effects of Herbicides and the Environmental Pollutants on Aquatic Organisms

“…The agricultural revolution is the starting point for using various types of pesticides and synthetic and chemical fertilizers to increase agriculture crops' volume and maintenance [1][2][3]. Thus, the development agriculture industry has caused an increase in the pollution of aquatic ecosystems with agrochemicals.…”

“…Pesticides, including herbicides, are pollutants that can be found in the water around agriculture fields. Herbicides are usually used to control weeds and unwanted plants in agriculture farms, fruit gardens, aquaculture ponds, and urban green spaces [3,4]. Herbicides may enter water ecosystems when used or after being applied.…”

Arthropods discovered on refugio flowering plants in Mangifera indica plantation

“…Natural ecosystems have a variety of services that humans and other organisms rely on for their survival and well-being (Scudder 2017;Eggleton 2020). These services can be categorized as provision (production of food, fiber, water, and other resources), supporting (primary production, pollination, decomposition, and formation of soil necessary for resource production), and regulating (biological control and feedback mechanisms that maintain relatively consistent service delivery) (Seibold et al 2021;Kusuma & Windriyanti 2022;Goode et al 2022;Sogari et al 2023). Ecosystems can also be viewed as producing "harmful" components such as pests and waste (Schowalter et al 2018).…”