Location: Invasive Plant Research Laboratory
Project Number: 6032-22000-012-059-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2019
End Date: Aug 30, 2020
Objective:
Objective 1: Continue biology studies, including diapause investigations, and host range testing of Calomela beetle populations.
Objective 2: Definitively identify Trichologaster sp. and Dasineura sp.
Objective 3: Conduct longitudinal transect of Acacia auriculiformis range in northwestern Northern Territory with cooperation from Parks Australia and Australian Biological Control Laboratory (ABCL).
Objective 4: Ship, curate and colonize Trichologaster sp. and Macrobathra leucozancla from established colonies at ABCL, Australia to Invasive Plant Research Laboratory (IPRL) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Indian River Research and Education Center (UF-IFAS IRREC) in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Objective 5: Continue host-range examinations potential biological control agents at USDA-ARS IRPL and UF-IFAS IRREC, splitting the host test plant list.
Approach:
Travel. Travel in Australia will continue to focus within Northern Territory and Queensland. Now that monthly surveys are concluded for both regions, we plan to focus on quarterly surveys that will sample more intensely those taxa that we have identified for potential as biological control candidates. All trip costs include round-trip economy airfare, M&IE, lodging and local travel costs for two scientists. Estimates are based on the U.S. Department of State foreign per diem rates. Whenever possible, local transportation is charged for only one traveler (e.g., car hires) as the second traveler will share the ride.
Technical support. To process and rear collections, support for a ½ time technician is included to be located at the USDA/ARS lab in Brisbane, Australia. We also include support for two ½ time technicians in at UF-IFAS IRREC and USDA-ARS IPRL to continue through FY 2020.
All potential agents are first screened at the Australian Biological Control Laboratory for host affinity utilizing the most critical North American species. Candidates that pass these tests are reared and shipped into permitted quarantine facilities. Due to the potential immediate need for better control for this species, we are approaching this candidate plant with a strategy to test agents at the USDA-ARS IPRL facility and the UF-IFAS IRREC facility. This will safeguard against colony collapse and may facilitate a more efficient testing process due to the increased host-range testing required for compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
