The History of the Vedalia Beetle Importation to California and its Impact on the Development of Biological Control

Caltagirone, L. E.; Doutt, Richard L.

doi:10.1146/annurev.en.34.010189.000245

Cited by 226 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

114

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…scale insect (Icerya purchasi) population increased upon the application of DDT because along with the scale insects, the DDT killed the vedalia beetle (Rodolia cardinalis), a predator species keeping the scale insect under biological control (Elton 1958;Catagirone and Doutt 1989).…”

Section: ) Dtmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Robust Volterra Principle*

Weisberg¹,

Reisman²

2008

Philos. of Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Theorizing in ecology and evolution often proceeds via the construction of multiple idealized models. To determine whether a theoretical result actually depends on core features of the models and is not an artifact of simplifying assumptions, theorists have developed the technique of robustness analysis, the examination of multiple models looking for common predictions. A striking example of robustness analysis in ecology is the discovery of the Volterra Principle, which describes the effect of general biocides in predator-prey systems. This paper details the discovery of the Volterra Principle and the demonstration of its robustness. It considers the classical ecology literature on robustness and introduces two individual-based models of predation, which are used to further analyze the Volterra Principle. The paper also introduces a distinction between parameter robustness, structural robustness, and representational robustness, and demonstrates that the Volterra Principle exhibits all three kinds of robustness. Disciplines PhilosophyThis journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/philosophy_papers/5 106The Robust Volterra Principle* Michael Weisberg and Kenneth Reisman † ‡ Theorizing in ecology and evolution often proceeds via the construction of multiple idealized models. To determine whether a theoretical result actually depends on core features of the models and is not an artifact of simplifying assumptions, theorists have developed the technique of robustness analysis, the examination of multiple models looking for common predictions. A striking example of robustness analysis in ecology is the discovery of the Volterra Principle, which describes the effect of general biocides in predator-prey systems. This paper details the discovery of the Volterra Principle and the demonstration of its robustness. It considers the classical ecology literature on robustness and introduces two individual-based models of predation, which are used to further analyze the Volterra Principle. The paper also introduces a distinction between parameter robustness, structural robustness, and representational robustness, and demonstrates that the Volterra Principle exhibits all three kinds of robustness.

show abstract

Section: ) Dtmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Robust Volterra Principle*

Weisberg¹,

Reisman²

2008

Philos. of Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Historically, there has been considerable effort put into biological control in the USA, Canada and Hawaii (Clausen 1956(Clausen , 1978Beirne 1975;Funasaki et al 1988). Early enthusiasm about importing biological control agents followed the dramatic success of releasing the predaceous vedalia beetle, Rodolia cardinalis (Mulsant), in California in 1889, saving citrus groves there from the damaging cottony cushion scale, Icerya purchasi (Maskell) (Caltagirone and Doutt 1989). The US Department of Agriculture, as well as scientists at various universities, played central roles importing, breeding and releasing a wide variety of insect predators, parasitoids and herbivores from around the world (Clausen 1956).…”

Section: Intentional Versus Accidentalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of insect invasions in North America, Japan and their Islands

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Among the various animal taxa that are have established outside their native ranges, invasions by insect species are the most numerous worldwide. In order to better understand the characteristics of insect species that make them more invasion prone, the characteristics of habitats that make them more susceptible to invasions and to understand the pathways that facilitate invasions, we compared the compositions of the native and non-native insect communities among five Pacific regions: North America, the Hawaiian Islands, mainland Japan, Ogasawara and Okinawa Islands. These regions comprise both island and mainland habitats and have historically been subjected to varying activities affecting insect movement. Among the five regions, the oceanic islands, Hawaii and Ogasawara, appear to be the most prone to invasions. Specific insect orders such as the Blattodea, Siphonaptera, Thysanoptera and Hemiptera are disproportionally represented in the non-native insect fauna compared to the native fauna in all regions. A large fraction of the non-native insect species in North America (9.4 %) and Hawaii (13.2 %) were introduced intentionally, as part of biological control programs, which were historically pursued more vigorously in those regions than in Japan. Dominance by individual insect orders within invaded communities can be explained by the historical importance of invasion pathways, some of which were likely similar among regions (e.g., movement on live plants), while other pathways appear more region specific. Translocation of insect species among world regions appears to be affected by climatic similarity, 123Biol Invasions (2015) 17:3049-3061 DOI 10.1007/s10530-015-0935-y host plant similarity and propagule pressure, though these effects are often confounded.

show abstract

“…The introduction of this small beetle so effectively controlled the pest that it virtually disappeared from orchards (Sawyer 1996). The history of this program is itself intriguing, filled with personal conflicts, policy and scientific arguments, and even the devious use of government funds to send the collector, A. Koebele, to Australia (Caltagirone and Doutt 1989;Doutt 1964). To continue such efforts, in part through pressure from citrus growers, the State of California hired George Compere in 1899 to conduct foreign exploration for natural enemies of other exotic pests.…”

Section: Biological Control As a Public Interest Science In Californiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The decline of public interest agricultural science and the dubious future of crop biological control in California

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drawing from a four-year study of US science institutions that support biological control of arthropods, this article examines the decline in biological control institutional capacity in California within the context of both declining public interest science and declining agricultural research activism. After explaining how debates over the public interest character of biological control science have shaped institutions in California, we use scientometric methods to assess the present status and trends in biological control programs within both the University of California Land Grant System and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. We present available data on the number of scientific positions and the types of positions to discuss the impact on the amount of public interest research on biological control in California. We use sociograms to depict how biological control science networks have been reconfigured over time. Our quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate that the following factors contributed to the decline of biological control science in California over the 45-year period analyzed: (1) the institutional reconfiguration of university research priorities; (2) the fraying networks within and increasing specialization of biological control science; (3) the transformation of the social organization of the life science work, including privatization; and (4) the abandonment of this thematic area by civil society activist groups. This broad array of forces suggests that biological control, as a public interest science, will require a deliberate intervention, based on advocacy of clear public interest criteria.

show abstract

The History of the Vedalia Beetle Importation to California and its Impact on the Development of Biological Control

Cited by 226 publications

References 17 publications

The Robust Volterra Principle*

The Robust Volterra Principle*

Comparison of insect invasions in North America, Japan and their Islands

The decline of public interest agricultural science and the dubious future of crop biological control in California

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About