Communication is key: CABI publishes framework for strategic communications during pest outbreaks
The invasion of a highly destructive plant pest can have a devastating effect on farmers’ crop production, natural ecosystems and economic trade. In Africa, where a large proportion of people live in rural areas and rely on subsistence agriculture, invasive species can cause severe damage and seriously impact food and nutritional security.
Enabling access to FAIR and open agricultural data: CABI’s Action on Invasives takes the lead
For many centuries, data has been used in agriculture to help farmers, researchers and policymakers make more informed decisions. For instance, farmers use weather and soil data to decide how and when to fertilise, plant or harvest; and policymakers use data about the impact of pest and disease management interventions during evidence-based decision making.
Invasives Most Read 2019
As 2019 draws to a close, we have crunched the numbers and pulled together the year’s most read articles. Plus some firm favourites. Fall armyworm continues to be a popular topic for our readers and this year, blogs on biocontrol efforts to control the invasive caterpillar make the top 20. CABI’s Pest Risk Analysis tool…
Work like a dog: Sniffing out Japanese Knotweed
Native species are disappearing forever because of alien invasions. Never before has it cost the environment, economy and tax payer more, and decline has never been more rapid than in the last 30 years. Following New-Zealand’s trailblazing government-funded model, we have every reason to believe we can tackle invasive weed management better around the world…
Invasive parakeets disrupt Hawaii’s agriculture
Originally published on Island Conservation Community members look for solutions to the threat of invasive Rose-ringed Parakeets in Kauai which are impacting native wildlife and the economy.
Study finds endoparasitoid wasp can reduce fall armyworm leaf consumption rate by up to 89%
In a recently published study led by CABI, researchers assessed, under lab conditions, the effect of the endoparasitoid wasp, Coccygidium luteum on the leaf rate consumption of its host – fall armyworm larvae.
New hope for trees affected by ash dieback
Originally published on BBC Science & Environment Scientists say there is new hope in the fight against a disease that is devastating ash trees. A study has identified the genes that give trees resistance to ash dieback, which arrived in the UK in 2012 and has now spread to almost every part of the country.
A Plague of Cactus
By Susan Moran. Reblogged from bioGraphic. Across Kenya’s wildlife-rich Laikipia Plateau, a thorny enemy is advancing. But a tiny sap-sucking insect may help save the region’s animals and people. Before the sun has peeked above the horizon, Philip Nangoo Larpei, a Maasai elder in his 60s or 70s (he hasn’t kept track), is already outside checking…
Invasive tadpoles can recognise potential predators in new environments
By Natasha Kruger. Reblogged from The Conversation. Invasive species have become an increasingly big threat to indigenous ones as the spread of alien animals and plants has accelerated with the growth of global trade. Some can be very destructive, while some live in close proximity without posing any sort of threat. Understanding the behaviour of invasive…
Invasive species aren’t just a ‘first world problem’
By Jim Erickson-Michigan. Reblogged from Futurity. Invasions from alien plants, animals, and pathogens threaten the economies of the world’s poorest nations, according to study. One-sixth of the global land surface is highly vulnerable to invasion, including substantial areas in developing countries and biodiversity hotspots, according to the study published in Nature Communications.