Complex interactions in biological control

生物控制中复杂的相互作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-06527
• 负责人: Brodeur, Jacques
• 金额: $ 3.79万
• 依托单位: Université de Montréal
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=646300
• 关键词: Complex; interactions; biological; control

Biological control is the use of natural enemies (pathogens, parasites and predators) to suppress pest populations. It is a viable and sustainable alternative to synthetic pesticides. However, numerous biotic and abiotic factors may influence the effectiveness of biocontrol agents. My research is aimed at identifying some of the governing ecological principles and mechanisms of multispecies interactions within arthropod communities. This research is both essential and timely, for an increasing number of biocontrol agents are available in agriculture. Furthermore, climate change may compromise biological control. ***Rising temperatures and increasing extreme climatic events not only affect species performance, but also species interactions. Climate change is expected to directly affect biological control by modifying (i) the relative metabolic rate and associated processes (e.g., development, foraging, reproduction) between pest and natural enemies, and (ii) both the spatial and temporal synchrony of biocontrol agents and pests. Using different predator-parasitoid models, as well as a large data set on thermal responses of biological control agents my students and I have recently collected, we propose to examine (i) how temperature-mediated metabolic changes, especially at low and high temperatures, influence the foraging behaviour and reproduction of natural enemies and thereby determine their top-down effect on pest populations, and (ii) how potential phenological mismatching between pests and their natural enemies can limit biological control - through the use of an index that identifies prey/host-predator/parasite relationships that are susceptible to be disrupted by climate change.***A second axis of my program relates to strategies evolved by parasitic wasps to exploit their host, more specifically their ability to manipulate host behaviour. I wish to study, from proximate and ultimate mechanisms to ecological consequences, a type of host manipulation that has been largely unexplored: the bodyguard manipulation. We observed that a parasitic wasp has the capacity to transform its ladybird host into a bodyguard while developing within its cocoon, which results in a significant reduction in predation on the developing parasite. Furthermore, and unexpectedly, ladybirds may recover from parasitism. I plan to first quantify different aspects of the natural history of the parasitic wasp by conducting field work to improve our understanding of its host specificity, seasonal ecology and role in agroecosystems. Next, I wish to answer two important questions on the ecological attributes of parasitized ladybirds. First, to what extent does parasitism impair ladybird performance? Second, from an applied perspective, do parasitized ladybirds have intrinsically the same capacity to regulate aphid populations as unparasitized conspecifics under field conditions?**

生物防治是利用天敌（病原体、寄生虫和捕食者）来抑制害虫种群。它是合成农药的可行且可持续的替代品。然而，许多生物和非生物因素可能会影响生物防治剂的有效性。我的研究旨在确定节肢动物群落内多物种相互作用的一些主导生态原则和机制。这项研究既重要又及时，因为农业中可用的生物防治剂越来越多。此外，气候变化可能会损害生物控制。 ***气温升高和极端气候事件增加不仅影响物种表现，而且影响物种相互作用。气候变化预计将通过改变（i）害虫和天敌之间的相对代谢率和相关过程（例如发育、觅食、繁殖），以及（ii）生物防治剂和天敌的空间和时间同步性来直接影响生物防治。害虫。使用不同的捕食者-寄生物模型，以及我和我的学生最近收集的生物控制剂热反应的大量数据集，我们建议研究（i）温度介导的代谢变化，特别是在低温和高温下，影响天敌的觅食行为和繁殖，从而确定它们对害虫种群的自上而下的影响，以及（ii）害虫与其天敌之间潜在的物候不匹配如何限制生物控制——通过使用识别指数容易受到气候变化破坏的猎物/宿主-捕食者/寄生虫关系。***我的计划的第二个轴涉及寄生黄蜂为利用宿主而进化的策略，更具体地说是它们操纵宿主行为的能力。我希望研究从直接和最终机制到生态后果的一种很大程度上尚未被探索的宿主操纵：保镖操纵。我们观察到，寄生黄蜂在茧内发育时有能力将其瓢虫宿主转变为保镖，这导致对发育中的寄生虫的捕食显着减少。此外，出乎意料的是，瓢虫可能会从寄生中恢复过来。我计划首先通过进行实地工作来量化寄生蜂自然史的不同方面，以提高我们对其寄主特异性、季节性生态和在农业生态系统中的作用的了解。 接下来，我想回答关于寄生瓢虫生态属性的两个重要问题。首先，寄生在多大程度上损害了瓢虫的性能？其次，从应用的角度来看，在田间条件下，被寄生的瓢虫是否具有与未寄生的同种昆虫一样的本质上相同的调节蚜虫种群的能力？**