Prioritized list of potential biological control agents from South Africa for fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis) in Australia

[摘要] The final report of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) funded Fireweed Control Research project (#179/10) where CSIRO subcontracted activities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) at Pietermarizburg in South Africa was accepted in 2012. Nonetheless research activities have continued on the remaining funding, given delays in staff appointments in the following areas:•Quantitative sampling of the arthropod herbivore communities on 18 Senecio spp. in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa; •Detailed quantitative sampling of the arthropod herbivore community on S. madagascariensis and co-occurring on Senecio species across the four seasons at one key site;•Identification as far as possible of the arthropod herbivore species on S. madagascariensis and related species found during the quantitative surveys.•Completion of studies of the community of plant pathogens on fireweed in South Africa;This addendum to the final report presents a prioritized list of potential biological control agents for fireweed in South Africa before the existing funding for this project finished in December 2015. The activities in the above listed areas have not been completed. Activities that remain to be completed include reliable diagnostics of many of the natural enemy species found, and field definition of their host range in South Africa. These activities have not yet been completed due to both a shortage of necessary taxonomic specialists and the complexities and slowness of undertaking molecular diagnostics using the barcoding approach. Nonetheless the project has found an agent that looks to be very promising as a biological control agent for fireweed in Australia. This is a flea beetle, as yet undetermined, but found feeding on the roots of S. madagascariensis in South Africa, but not on other Senecio spp. This is encouraging, because flea beetles have been highly effective biological control agents against a number of herbaceous invasive alien weeds, including against ragwort and Paterson’s curse in Australia.Based on the results to date this report makes the following recommendations for further work:1.Complete identifications of all natural enemy species in Table 9 using where possible molecular (barcoding) and morphological taxonomic approaches. 2.Use this information to determine likely field host range by mapping species identifications to the arthropod collection data recorded from 18 Senecio taxa in South Africa3.Develop rearing/culturing methodologies for the flea beetle, the agent considered the highest priority as a biological control agent for fireweed in Australia 4.Initiate host specificity testing of the flea beetle in the field in South Africa5.Prepare an application for importing the flea beetle into quarantine in Australia for future research from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources under the Quarantine Act 1908, and from the Department of the Environment for a testing permit for experimental work in Australia under the EPBC Act 1999.6.Reassess other potential agents once more information becomes availableThis project has so far led to one Master’s thesis (Egli 2013) and one scientific publication (EgliOlckers 2015) on the natural enemies found on S. madagascariensis and other native Senecio spp. in South Africa and their potential for the biological control of fireweed in Australia.

[发布日期] 2016-05-20 [发布机构] CSIRO

[学科分类] 地球科学(综合)