Prioritisation of potential agents for the biological control of the invasive alien weed, Pereskia aculeata (Cactaceae), in South Africa

Paterson, Iain D; Vitorino, Marcello D; de Cristo, S C; Martin, Grant D; Hill, Martin P

Title: Prioritisation of potential agents for the biological control of the invasive alien weed, Pereskia aculeata (Cactaceae), in South Africa
Creator: Paterson, Iain D
Creator: Vitorino, Marcello D
Creator: de Cristo, S C
Creator: Martin, Grant D
Creator: Hill, Martin P
Date Issued: 2014
Date: 2014
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76946
Identifier: vital:30644
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2013.864382
Description: Pereskia aculeata Miller (Cactaceae) is an invasive alien species in South Africa that is native in Central and South America. In South Africa, P. aculeata outcompetes native plant species leading to a reduction in biodiversity at infested sites. Herbicidal and mechanical control of the plant is ineffective and unsustainable, so biological control is considered the only potential solution. Climatic matching and genotype matching indicated that the most appropriate regions in which to collect biological control agents were Santa Catarina and Rio de Janeiro provinces in Southern Brazil. Surveys throughout the native distribution resulted in 15 natural enemy species that were associated with the plant. Field host range data, as well as previous host plant records, were used to prioritise which of the species were most likely to be suitably host specific for release in South Africa. The mode of damage was used to determine which species were most likely to be damaging and effective if released. The most promising species prioritised for further study, including host specificity and impact studies, were the stem-wilter Catorhintha schaffneri Brailovsky and Garcia (Coreidae); the stem boring species Acanthodoxus machacalis Martins and Monné (Cerambycidae), Cryptorhynchus sp. (Curculionidae) and Maracayia chlorisalis (Walker) (Crambidae) and the fruit galler Asphondylia sp. (Cecidomyiidae). By prioritising the potential biological control agents that are most likely to be host-specific and damaging, the risk of conducting host specificity testing on unsuitable or ineffective biological control agents is reduced.
Format: 19 pages
Format: pdf
Language: English
Relation: Biocontrol science and technology
Relation: Paterson, I.D., Vitorino, M.D., de Cristo, S.C., Martin, G.D. and Hill, M.P., 2014. Prioritisation of potential agents for the biological control of the invasive alien weed, Pereskia aculeata (Cactaceae), in South Africa. Biocontrol science and technology, 24(4), pp.407-425.
Relation: Biocontrol science and technology volume 24 number 4 407 425 2014 1360-0478
Rights: Authors
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Taylor and Francis Online Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.tandfonline.com/terms-and-conditions)

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Martin, Grant D (Dr)

Paterson, Iain D (Associate Professor)

Hill, Martin Patrick (Distinguished Professor)

RU Department of Zoology and Entomology

RU DST/NRF SARChI for Insects in Sustainable Agricultural Ecosystems

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