Risk assessment procedures for biological control agents in New Zealand: two case studies for generalists
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Risk assessment procedures for biological control agents in New Zealand: two case studies for generalists Philippa J. Gerard
. Barbara I. P. Barratt
Received: 19 January 2020 / Accepted: 9 September 2020 International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC) 2020, corrected publication 2020
Abstract New Zealand’s indigenous and productive ecosystems are highly vulnerable to invasive species: therefore, New Zealand has stringent biosecurity legislation which encompasses the introduction of new biological control agents. To introduce a new agent, an application is made to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The risk assessment carried out by the applicant is reviewed and a decision is made by an independent committee following public submissions and Ma¯ori consultation. An application will be declined if it is likely the new agent will cause significant adverse impacts on any indigenous species within its natural habitat, on natural habitats or on New Zealand’s inherent genetic diversity. Contrasting case studies are presented on two generalist arthropod biological control agents, one for a predatory mirid Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) (Hemiptera: Miridae) where the application was declined,
Handling Editor: David Andow. P. J. Gerard (&) AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre, PB 3123 Hamilton, New Zealand e-mail: [email protected] B. I. P. Barratt AgResearch, Invermay Research Centre, PB 50034 Mosgiel, New Zealand
and the other a predatory mite Neomolgus capillatus (Kramer) (Acarina: Bdellidae) which was considered for an application. Keywords Biological control Generalist predator Miridae Bdellidae Trialeurodes vaporariorum Sminthurus viridis
Introduction As a remote island nation, New Zealand has unique flora and fauna and its agriculture, horticulture and forestry sectors, which are based on exotic species, are free of many associated pests and diseases found elsewhere in the world (Kelly and Sullivan 2010; Ridley 2003). Aided by its benign climate and globalised economy, New Zealand markets its tourism based on its ‘‘clean green’’ image (17% of export earnings) and is highly competitive in biologically based international trade (e.g. it is the world’s largest exporter of dairy products (FAO 2020)). However, the same factors also make its indigenous and productive ecosystems highly vulnerable to invasive species (Browne et al. 2018; Goldson et al. 2020) and consequently New Zealand has one of the tightest biosecurity legislations in the world (Hulme 2020; Pysˇek et al. 2020).
B. I. P. Barratt Better Border Biosecurity (B3), Lincoln, New Zealand
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P. J. Gerard, B. I. P. Barratt
In keeping with its need to produce quality products acceptable to discriminating markets, many New Zealand production systems are reliant on arthropod biological control agents to minimise or eliminate the need to use broad spectrum insecticides. The country has many examples of successful introductions of classical biological control agents to contr
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