Agroecological management of invasive species

During a meeting of the Italian National Academy of Entomology held in Florence on 18 February 2012, Luigi Ponti delivered a public lecture titled "Management of invasive species in the frame of an agro-ecological vision: the case study of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick)". The talk was part of a workshop on T. absoluta where Italian research stakeholders reported on this major invasive pest problem for the Mediterranean Basin. Dr. Ponti's talk focused on how physiologically-based weather-driven demographic models (CASAS models) integrated into a GIS may aid ecologically-based management of invasive species such as T. absoluta by sorting out the complexity of the global change biology involved. Examples of how invasive species can be assessed in the frame of an agro-ecological vision were provided and prospective applications to T. absoluta outlined along with common misunderstanding about invasive species that may be clarified using the modeling approach of the GlobalChangeBiology project.

Ponti L., Gutierrez A.P., Altieri M.A., 2012. Holistic management of invasive species: the case study of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae). Atti Accademia Nazionale Italiana di Entomologia, Anno LX: 125-136. Open access at http://www.accademiaentomologia.it

Risk of invasive species (from http:/dx.doi.org/10.1511/2009.78.203)

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