Success in Biological Control of Terrestrial Molluscs

Port, Gordon; Glen, D. M.; Symondson, William O. C.

doi:10.1007/978-94-011-4014-0_5

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It seems that P. niger as a generalist predator did not direct its attack at a specific part of the newt, as it was earlier shown in its predation on slugs (Port et al 2000). On the contrary, specialized species of Epomis which prey on amphibians, usually directed attacks on a specific part of their body, in anurans on the lower back area or rear limbs and in Triturus vittatus (Gray) at the central venter (Wizen & Gasith 2011a), to immobilise the prey quickly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Pterostichus niger is a eurytopic but silvicolous generalist predator frequently feeding on insect larvae and slugs (Lindroth 1986, Port et al 2000. The captured newt, considering its delicate build and small size, being some 1.5 as large as that of P. niger, did not differ essentially from the typical prey of that beetle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The long duration of the still unfinished predatory event might have been related to the low ambient temperature. However, Port et al (2000) suggested that it is typical that attacks not directed at a specific part of a slug lead to extended handling times.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

An event of underground predation on a wintering caudate amphibian by a carabid beetle

Bernard¹,

Samoląg²

2014

Entomol. Fennica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pterostichus niger (Coleoptera: Carabidae) preying on Lissotriton vulgaris (Caudata: Salamandridae) in complete darkness and fairly low ambient temperatures was recorded in mid-winter in the underground fortifications near Strzaliny, NW Poland, confirming the occurrence of the predation on small caudate amphibians by carabid beetles in natural conditions. The long but successful predatory event, being a result of sharing the same shelter, revealed the opportunistic predispositions of that generalist predator in a situation in which its typical prey was absent. This suggested that small amphibians may be a source of food for carabids, even for only moderately large species, in late autumn and winter shelters.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An event of underground predation on a wintering caudate amphibian by a carabid beetle

Bernard¹,

Samoląg²

2014

Entomol. Fennica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is especially so with historical biocontrol programs targeting non-marine molluscs. As one authority has noted, “the history of biological control of mollusc pests provides one of the so-called ‘best’ examples of how poorly planned biological control can itself result in the extinction of non-target species” [ 7 ] (p. 133). Accordingly, any proposal for the use of biological control agents targeting pest species of non-marine molluscs must be evaluated in the light of lessons learned from that long and unhappy history, as well as a modern understanding of the ecological and evolutionary complexity of species interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Control of Pest Non-Marine Molluscs: A Pacific Perspective on Risks to Non-Target Organisms

Christensen

Cowie

Yeung

et al. 2021

Insects

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Classic biological control of pest non-marine mollusks has a long history of disastrous outcomes, and despite claims to the contrary, few advances have been made to ensure that contemporary biocontrol efforts targeting mollusks are safe and effective. For more than half a century, malacologists have warned of the dangers in applying practices developed in the field of insect biological control, where biocontrol agents are often highly host-specific, to the use of generalist predators and parasites against non-marine mollusk pests. Unfortunately, many of the lessons that should have been learned from these failed biocontrol programs have not been rigorously applied to contemporary efforts. Here, we briefly review the failures of past non-marine mollusk biocontrol efforts in the Pacific islands and their adverse environmental impacts that continue to reverberate across ecosystems. We highlight the fact that none of these past programs has ever been demonstrated to be effective against targeted species, and at least two (the snails Euglandina spp. and the flatworm Platydemus manokwari) are implicated in the extinction of hundreds of snail species endemic to Pacific islands. We also highlight other recent efforts, including the proposed use of sarcophagid flies and nematodes in the genus Phasmarhabditis, that clearly illustrate the false claims that past bad practices are not being repeated. We are not making the claim that biocontrol programs can never be safe and effective. Instead, we hope that in highlighting the need for robust controls, clear and measurable definitions of success, and a broader understanding of ecosystem level interactions within a rigorous scientific framework are all necessary before claims of success can be made by biocontrol advocates. Without such amendments to contemporary biocontrol programs, it will be impossible to avoid repeating the failures of non-marine mollusk biocontrol programs to date.

show abstract

“…Natural predation by mammals, amphibians, reptiles and even fish (South, 1992; Allen, 2004) has been documented. Invertebrates including spiders (Nyffeler & Symondson, 2001), flatworms (Winsor et al , 2004), Diptera (Barker et al , 2004) and carabid beetles (Port et al , 2000) are known to predate slugs and provide some population control. Long‐term shifts in predator populations with changing climate may also be an important factor in determining future slug population dynamics and range.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of an individual‐based model to forecast the effect of climate change on the dynamics, abundance and geographical range of the pest slugDeroceras reticulatumin the UK

Willis

Bohan

Choi³

et al. 2006

Global Change Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Slugs are serious agricultural pests and their activity is strongly driven by ambient temperature and soil moisture. The strength of this relationship has been shown through the development of a deterministic model, based upon temperature and soil moisture conditions alone, which accurately describes the population dynamics and abundance of Deroceras reticulatum. Because of this strong climatic dependence, slug abundance and dynamics are likely to be affected by climate change. We used a validated individualbased model (IbM) of D. reticulatum, to assess the effects of climate change on the abundance of this species in the UK. Climatic scenarios were based on the UKCIP02 predictions and constructed using the LARS-WG stochastic weather generator. The IbM of slugs predicted population dynamics at three time slices (2020s, 2050s and 2080s), and two scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions. The maximum generation number, the number of population peaks, the number of slug-days in each season, the percentage of years when the population passes over a threshold for damage and the percentage of years in which populations go extinct were investigated. Currently, the south-west of the UK has the best conditions for D. reticulatum to thrive, with the north-east of Scotland having the most adverse. By 2080 under both low-and high-emissions scenarios, the north and west of Scotland will have the most favourable conditions for the survival of this species and the east of the UK and Scotland will have the harshest. By 2080 the climate in the north-west of Scotland will become more like the current climate in southeast England, which explains the shift in the pattern of abundance. The north-west of Scotland will have increased slug damage and south-west England and west-Wales will have decreased slug damage with some changes becoming evident by 2020.

show abstract

Success in Biological Control of Terrestrial Molluscs

Cited by 7 publications

References 43 publications

An event of underground predation on a wintering caudate amphibian by a carabid beetle

An event of underground predation on a wintering caudate amphibian by a carabid beetle

Biological Control of Pest Non-Marine Molluscs: A Pacific Perspective on Risks to Non-Target Organisms

Use of an individual‐based model to forecast the effect of climate change on the dynamics, abundance and geographical range of the pest slugDeroceras reticulatumin the UK

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About