scholarly journals Diversity of Soil Gamasine Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina) in an Area of Natural Vegetation and Cultivated Areas of the Cerrado Biome in Northern Brazil

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 331
Author(s):  
Emiliano Brandão de Azevedo ◽  
Letícia Henrique Azevedo ◽  
Grazielle Furtado Moreira ◽  
Fábio Araújo dos Santos ◽  
Marcos Alberto Francisco de Carvalho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Natural Vegetation ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Biological Control Agents ◽  
Cerrado Biome ◽  
Northern Brazil ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Agricultural Areas

The Brazilian Cerrado biome has undergone major changes, with the incorporation of new areas for agricultural production. While this can certainly provide for the worldwide growing need for agricultural products, especially food, care should be taken to prevent possible environmental degradation. Worldwide, mites of the cohort Gamasina constitute the most abundant and diverse group of soil predatory mites, usually considered important in maintaining the ecological balance of natural environments. Little is known about the abundance and diversity of Gamasina in the Cerrado. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the abundance and diversity of Gamasina in soils of natural vegetation and of agroecosystems in Cerrado areas of the northern Brazilian state of Tocantins. This is considered the first step in the determination of possible role of the local predators as biological control agents, and their potential for practical use locally and elsewhere. Soil samples were taken monthly between July 2015 and June 2016. In total, 1373 Gamasina representing 45 species of 24 genera and 9 families were collected. The most abundant Gamasina belonged to Rhodacaridae in areas of the natural vegetation and to Ascidae in the agroecosystems. Abundance and diversity were much higher in the rainy than in the dry season. Rhodacarids and ascids have not been used commercially for pest control, but investigations conducted so far suggest their potential as biological control agents. The confirmation of this possibility and the development of techniques that would allow their maintenance in agricultural areas require subsequent research efforts.

The Role of Nutritional Principles in Biological Control

1966 ◽  
Vol 98 (11) ◽  
pp. 1121-1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. L. House
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Insect Nutrition ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Chemical Substances

AbstractThe role that nutrition plays in biological control may be seen in natural environments; but to understand and to make use of this role the principles concerned must be understood essentially in terms of specific chemical substances. A number of principles of insect nutrition particularly relevant to biological control concern the food of the host, the host itself, and its parasitoid. These principles may be generalized into three laws and they are called here the rule of sameness, the principle of nutrient proportionality, and the principle of cooperating supplements. Each is discussed in connection with its application in the laboratory or in natural environments, and a few examples of work relating to each are given. Most examples quoted are from work at Belleville, Ontario, on the parasitoid Pseudosarcophaga affinis Auct. nec. Fallén.

scholarly journals Successful Invasions and Failed Biocontrol: The Role of Antagonistic Species Interactions

BioScience ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 711-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley N Schulz ◽  
Rima D Lucardi ◽  
Travis D Marsico
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Classical Biological Control ◽  
Enemy Release Hypothesis ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Enemy Release ◽  
Nonnative Species ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Top Down

Abstract Understanding the successes and failures of nonnative species remains challenging. In recent decades, researchers have developed the enemy release hypothesis and other antagonist hypotheses, which posit that nonnative species either fail or succeed in a novel range because of the presence or absence of antagonists. The premise of classical biological control of invasive species is that top-down control works. We identify twelve existing hypotheses that address the roles that antagonists from many trophic levels play during plant and insect invasions in natural environments. We outline a unifying framework of antagonist hypotheses to simplify the relatedness among the hypotheses, incorporate the role of top-down and bottom-up influences on nonnative species, and encourage expansion of experimental assessments of antagonist hypotheses to include belowground and fourth trophic level antagonists. A mechanistic understanding of antagonists and their impacts on nonnative species is critical in a changing world.

scholarly journals The role of biological control in the sustainability of the Cuban agri-food system

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilda Pérez-Consuegra ◽  
Luis Mirabal ◽  
Luis C. Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Food System ◽  
Predatory Mites ◽  
Spanish Version ◽  
Biological Control Agents ◽  
Augmentative Biological Control ◽  
Country Level ◽  
The World

We analyze the role biological control plays in the Cuban agri-food system and discuss an experience at the country level that demonstrates that the pest problem can be handled through an ecological and sustainable approach. Biological control is one of the key components of a systemic approach that characterizes pest management. Its implementation has led to the removal of a group of highly dangerous pesticides from the Official List of Authorized Pesticides and reduced use of others. Greater emphasis has been placed on augmentative biological control, which is a tendency repeated throughout the world. In Cuba, rudimentary production occurs in 176 Centers for the Reproduction of Entomophages and Entomopathogens (CREE) located throughout the country; four industrial production plants are in operation, as are pilot plants and facilities in research centers. The biological control agents that are most reproduced are the parasitoids Lixophaga diatraeae (Townsend) (Diptera: Tachinidae) and Trichogramma Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), the entomopathogens Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bacillales: Bacillaceae), and Beauveria bassiana sensu lato (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae); the antagonist Trichoderna Persoon (Ascomycota: Hypocreales: Hypocreaceae); and the nematodes of the Heterorhabditis Poinar (Nematoda: Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) genus. The use of predatory mites in inoculative strategies is limited due to their restricted availability, in spite of the fact that different alternatives have been evaluated for their massive reproduction with encouraging results. The achievements and progress obtained in classical and augmentative biological control and the changes in the understanding and thinking in Cuban agricultural have laid strong foundations for biological control through conservation of natural enemies. This latter strategy is greatly valued in sustainable agriculture. Please refer to Supplementary Materials, Full text Spanish version of this article, for a full text Spanish version of this article.

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