Wyckhuys Kris A G, Wongtiem Prapit, Rauf Aunu, Thancharoen Anchana, Heimpel George E, Le Nhung T T, Fanani Muhammad Zainal, Gurr Geoff M, Lundgren Jonathan G, Burra Dharani D, Palao Leo K, Hyman Glenn, Graziosi Ignazio, Le Vi X, Cock Matthew J W, Tscharntke Teja, Wratten Steve D, Nguyen Liem V, You Minsheng, Lu Yanhui, Ketelaar Johannes W, Goergen Georg, Neuenschwander Peter
Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture & Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
PeerJ. 2018 Oct 19;6:e5796. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5796. eCollection 2018.
Biological control, a globally-important ecosystem service, can provide long-term and broad-scale suppression of invasive pests, weeds and pathogens in natural, urban and agricultural environments. Following (few) historic cases that led to sizeable environmental up-sets, the discipline of arthropod biological control has-over the past decades-evolved and matured. Now, by deliberately taking into account the ecological risks associated with the planned introduction of insect natural enemies, immense environmental and societal benefits can be gained. In this study, we document and analyze a successful case of biological control against the cassava mealybug, (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) which invaded Southeast Asia in 2008, where it caused substantial crop losses and triggered two- to three-fold surges in agricultural commodity prices. In 2009, the host-specific parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was released in Thailand and subsequently introduced into neighboring Asian countries. Drawing upon continental-scale insect surveys, multi-year population studies and (field-level) experimental assays, we show how attained intermediate to high parasitism rates across diverse agro-ecological contexts. Driving mealybug populations below non-damaging levels over a broad geographical area, allowed yield recoveries up to 10.0 t/ha and provided biological control services worth several hundred dollars per ha (at local farm-gate prices) in Asia's four-million ha cassava crop. Our work provides lessons to invasion science and crop protection worldwide. Furthermore, it accentuates the importance of scientifically-guided biological control for insect pest management, and highlights its potentially large socio-economic benefits to agricultural sustainability in the face of a debilitating invasive pest. In times of unrelenting insect invasions, surging pesticide use and accelerating biodiversity loss across the globe, this study demonstrates how biological control-as a pure public good endeavor-constitutes a powerful, cost-effective and environmentally-responsible solution for invasive species mitigation.
生物防治作为一项具有全球重要意义的生态系统服务，能够在自然、城市和农业环境中对入侵害虫、杂草和病原体进行长期且广泛的抑制。在经历了（少数）导致大规模环境破坏的历史案例后，节肢动物生物防治学科在过去几十年中不断发展并走向成熟。如今，通过审慎考虑与有计划引入昆虫天敌相关的生态风险，可以获得巨大的环境和社会效益。在本研究中，我们记录并分析了一个成功防治木薯粉蚧（半翅目：粉蚧科）的生物防治案例，该害虫于2008年入侵东南亚，造成了大量作物损失，并引发农产品价格上涨两到三倍。2009年，寄主专化性寄生蜂（膜翅目：跳小蜂科）在泰国释放，随后被引入亚洲邻国。基于大陆范围的昆虫调查、多年种群研究以及（田间水平的）实验分析，我们展示了该寄生蜂如何在不同农业生态环境中实现中等至高寄生率。在广阔地理区域内将粉蚧种群数量压低至无害水平，该寄生蜂使木薯产量每公顷最多恢复10.0吨，并为亚洲四百万公顷木薯作物提供了每公顷价值数百美元（按当地农场门口价格计算）的生物防治服务。我们的工作为全球入侵科学和作物保护提供了经验教训。此外，它凸显了科学指导下的生物防治对害虫管理的重要性，并强调了面对破坏性入侵害虫时其对农业可持续性潜在的巨大社会经济效益。在全球昆虫入侵不断、农药使用激增以及生物多样性加速丧失的时代，本研究表明生物防治作为一项纯粹的公益事业，是缓解入侵物种问题的有力、经济高效且对环境负责的解决方案。
