PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #60: Agroecology- Sustainable Agriculture.
Presiding: R. Bohanan
Wednesday, August 7. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Mesquite Room, Radisson.
Interactions between introduced and conserved biocontrol agents in cole crops.
Prasad, Renee*,1, Snyder, William1, 1 Department of Entomology, Pullman, WA
ABSTRACT- We are investigating two strategies for the biological control of root maggot pests of cole crops: inundative releases of the staphylinid beetle Aleochara blineata and conservation of endemic natural enemies by providing refuges. These two strategies could be used in conjunction to optimize the biological control of this damaging herbivore. However, efforts to establish weed biocontrol agents have demonstrated that introduced enemies can suffer heavy mortality by endemic predators ("biotic interference"). While biotic interference has been documented in classical biocontrol attempts, it may also retard inundative releases of biocontrol agents. Conserved natural enemies, for example carabid beetles and spiders, could act as intraguild predators, feeding on natural enemies released inundatively. Also, indirect effects of endemic predators on A. bilineata, such as reduced foraging as a intraguild predator avoidance strategy, may also limit the efficacy of the staphylinid. Our research addresses the following question: Are inundative and conservation biocontrol complimentary tactics for root maggot control? We are using a combination of field and laboratory experiments to examine interactions between A. bilineata and the endemic natural enemies.
KEY WORDS: biocontrol, intraguild predation, conservation