Annotated bibliography

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References

Raghu S. and Van Klinken R.D. (2006). Refining the ecological basis for agent selection in weed biological control. Australian Journal of Entomology 45: 251-252

Raghu S., Dhileepan K. and Scanlan J.C. (2007). Predicting risk and benefit a priori in biological control of invasive plant species: A systems modelling approach. Ecological Modelling 208: 247-262
In this study a simulation model is used to predict the risks and benefits of introducing the chrysomelid beetle Charidotis auroguttata to manage the invasive liana Macfadyena unguis-cati in Australia. Preliminary host-specificity testing of this herbivore indicated that there was limited feeding on a non-target plant, although the non-target was only able to sustain some transitions of the life cycle of the herbivore. The model included herbivore, target and non-target life history and incorporates spillover from the target to the non-target. The model predicted that risk to the non-target became unacceptable when the ratio of target to non-target in a given patch ranged from 1:1 to 3:2. By considering risk and benefit simultaneously, we highlight how such a simulation modelling approach can assist in making more objective decisions on the value of releasing specialist herbivores as biological control agents.

Raghu S., Wilson J.R. and Dhileepan K. (2006). Refining the process of agent selection through understanding plant demography and plant response to herbivory. Australian Journal of Entomology 45: 308-316

Rand T.A. and Louda S.M. (2006). Invasive insect abundance varies across the biogeographic distribution of a native host plant. Ecological Applications 16: 877-890
The authors quantified the abundance of the introduced and now invasive biocontrol weevil, Rhinocyllus conicus, on a newly adopted native host plant, Cirsium canescens (Platte thistle), across the plant's distributional range using regression and structural equation analyses. R. conicus now occurs throughout the-majority of the range of C. canescens, and were highest in the center of the native plant's distribution where its coevolved, targeted weed host (Carduus nutans, musk thistle) is absent. In addition to biogeographic position, the only other consistent predictor of weevil densities across sites was the number of flower heads per C. canescens plant. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that exotic weevil abundance on C. canescens is related to the local availability of native floral resources. Results suggest that isolated, peripheral populations of C. canescens are likely to be critical for persistence of Platte thistle.

Rees M. and Hill R.L. (2001). Large-scale disturbances biological control and the dynamics of gorse populations. Journal of Applied Ecology 38: 364-377

Rees M. and Paynter Q. (1997). Biological control of Scotch broom: Modelling the determinants of abundance and the potential impact of introduced insect herbivores. Journal of Applied Ecology 34: 1203-1221

Retief E., Rooi C. van, and Breeyen A. den (2016). Environmental requirements and host-specificity of Puccinia eupatorii, a potential biocontrol agent of Campuloclinium macrocephalum, in South Africa. Australasian Plant Pathology 45: 135-144

Roberts L.I.N. (1986). The practice of biological control - implications for conservation, science and the community. The Weta, Entomological Society of NZ 9: 76-84.

Romeis J., Babendreier D., Wackers F.L. and Shanower T.G. (2005). Habitat and plant specificity of Trichogramma egg parasitoids - underlying mechanisms and implications. Basic and Applied Ecology 6: 215-236

Rowbottom R.M., Allen G.R., Walker P.W. and Berndt L.A. (2013). Phenology, synchrony and host range of the Tasmanian population of Cotesia urabae introduced into New Zealand for the biocontrol of Uraba lugens. Biocontrol 58: 625-633.
The population dynamics of Cotesia urabae (Austin and Allen) (Braconidae: Microgastrinae), a biological control agent from Tasmania, and its eucalypt feeding host, Uraba lugens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) was investigated prior to its introduction to New Zealand in 2011. Previous host range testing on potential New Zealand non-targets determined C. urabae had some potential to attack an endemic species, Nyctemera annulata (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). A closely related species in Tasmania, Nyctemera amica, was thus investigated as a potential host along with the native host U. lugens, to better understand the host range of C. urabae and the synchrony with its host in Tasmania. Adult C. urabae emerged from pupal cocoons in the field during January which confirmed a five month window in which its host, the larvae of U. lugens, was absent in the field. Experiments using sentinel N. amica and U. lugens larvae, field collections of N. amica and of larvae of other Lepidopteran species during this five month time window detected no parasitism by C. urabae. In the laboratory, host specificity testing showed reduced attack rates and no resultant C. urabae eggs or developing larvae or any successful pupation of C. urabae larvae from attacked N. amica larvae. It was concluded that N. amica is most unlikely to be a host for C. urabae in Tasmania and no evidence of any other alternative host was found.

Rutledge C.E. and Wiedenmann R.N. (1999). Habitat preferences of three congeneric braconid parasitoids: implications for host-range testing in biological control. Biological Control 16: 144-154