NCERA148: Migration and Dispersal of Agriculturally Important Biota (NCR-148)
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
NCERA148: Migration and Dispersal of Agriculturally Important Biota (NCR-148)
Duration: 10/01/2004 to 09/30/2009
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
Pests negatively impact the health of plants, animals, and humans, and degrade the quality of rural and urban settings and natural landscapes. International trade and enhanced travel have increased the rate at which exotic pest species have entered and become established in North America. Containment of exotics, a primary concern, can be greatly exacerbated by dispersal once they arrive. Rapid response plans that include the ability to predict the spread of high-risk organisms are needed. In effect, the lack of understanding of the principles underpinning migration and dispersal of pest and beneficial organisms across a wide range of spatial scales has dramatically impeded the development and deployment of effective and socially acceptable IPM programs. The migration and dispersal of biotic agents is, indeed, poorly understood primarily because its study requires a transdisciplinary team approach with access to technology only now becoming available.
NCR-148 has met annually since 1984 and provides a positive forum for information exchange and advancements that cuts across disciplines, including landscape ecology, meteorology, entomology, bacteriology, plant virology, botany, and mycology. This forum has vastly increased the awareness of the critical role of migration and dispersal of biota in ecosystem dynamics. NCR-148 has fostered major interactions across commodity, discipline, and agency boundaries, and this has resulted in significant cooperative efforts, evidenced by the international aerobiology workshop (Oct. 1992), the formation of the Alliance for Aerobiology Research, the establishment of the ESCOP PMSS Movement and Dispersal Working Group, a generation of transdisciplinary research thrusts, and numerous national and international cross-disciplinary workshops and symposia. More recently, cooperative meetings have been arranged with other regional research committees, which will bring much needed expertise to their work. For example, the 2000 joint meeting of NCR-148/WCC-060 (Nov. 2001) aided research on pesticide resistance and its management. We have scheduled a second joint NCR-148/WCC-060 meeting for Fall 2004.
Additional progress is anticipated towards understanding and predicting movement of migratory pests and beneficial insects sharing atmospheric transport systems. Principles and methods gained from these studies apply across scales of dispersal, and present new opportunities for managing pests. New and continuing challenges face agriculture (e.g., exotic introductions, refuge strategies for resistance management, and areawide IPM). An emphasis on landscape scale approaches to managing pest and beneficial populations within the framework of IPM point to the importance of continuing and increasing effort at research and development on migration and dispersal. An increased understanding of dispersing biota and the influence of the environment, particularly the effects of landscape heterogeneity and atmospheric motion systems, are essential for the development of effective, environmentally compatible plant and animal protection and production. Continued cooperative research on movement of pests and beneficial insects will enhance economic benefit, human safety, and environmental quality through the sharing of knowledge and technology. The dearth of migration and dispersal information limits effective IPM implementation and justifies the continuance of NCR-148 for an additional five years.
Objectives
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To promote interdisciplinary research focused on the biotic and abiotic processes directly influencing migration and dispersal of biota.
Overall, the research components addressed by NCR-148 encompass the identification of environmental, atmospheric, behavioral, physiological, and genetic characteristics that result in migratory and dispersing forms of biota coupled with the principles that govern their movement, especially the ascent, translation, and descent of biota in the atmosphere. Multistate interdisciplinary research will be nurtured by providing a forum to exchange ideas, plan research, create linkages, share resources, and discuss research results.
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To assist in developing management strategies for migratory and dispersing biota.
To meet the needs of IPM practitioners, NCR-148 members will work to develop strategies for predicting and managing migrating and dispersing biota in ways beneficial to society. Movement of agriculturally important biota occurs at a wide range of spatial scales from centimeters to thousands of kilometers. Techniques for shifting spatial scales of analysis, known as upscaling and downscaling, represent an emerging area of environmental research (Beirkens et al. 2000). The committee plans increased focus on the interactions and interrelationships between the various scales of movement of biota and development and adaptation of associated methodology. Other areas of activity include: researching the impact of movement on population genetic structure related to resistance management, adaptation of exotic species to new environments, the genetics of migratory biota, and biosecurity implications of mobile biota, including invasive plants, insects, and pathogens (e.g., soybean rust).
Bierkens, M. F. P., Finke, P. A., and de Willigen, P. 2000. Upscaling and downscaling methods for environmental research. Kluwer, Dordrecht. 190 pp.
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To facilitate communication among individuals and organizations with an interest in migration and dispersal.
NCR-148 will assist state IPM coordinators and other stakeholders in their efforts to mitigate the impact of migration and dispersal, provide and maintain a comprehensive website, pursue distance learning opportunities, and improve linkages with other multistate committees including WCC060 (Science and Management of Pesticide Resistance), WCC066 (Integrated Management of Russian Wheat Aphid and Other Cereal Aphids), NC205 (Ecology and Management of European Corn Borer and Other Stalk-Boring Lepidoptera), NCR046 (Development, Optimization and Delivery of Management Strategies for Corn Rootworms), S1005 (Sources, Dispersal and Management of Stable Flies on Grazing Beef and Dairy Cattle), S1010 (Dynamic Soybean Pest Management for Evolving Agricultural Technologies and Cropping Systems), NCR125 (Biological Control of Arthropods and Weeds), S303 (Biological Control of Arthropod Pests and Weeds), and NC094 (Impact of Climate and Soils on Crop Selection and Management). NCR-148 will also link to each of the coordinators of USDA Regional Pest Management Centers to inform them of our activities, and to provide input on the role of migration and dispersal in developing IPM programs. Active participation of NCR-148 members in Regional Pest Management Center Working Groups will be a priority, to help ensure the inclusion of movement considerations in addressing emerging pest management issues.
Procedures and Activities
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- The overall impact of this project will be improved understanding of the biotic and abiotic processes that affect the migration and dispersal of agriculturally important biota, new uses of this knowledge, and increased extension of this information to professional and public audiences. This project will assist IPM practitioners with the development of effective and economical strategies to help protect US agriculture from endemic and invasive organisms. The listed intellectual and applied outcomes below are the main areas we expect to have the greatest impact: <ul> <li>New transdisciplinary awareness of the interactions and interrelationships between the various scales of movement of biota and development and adaptation of associated methodology. <li>Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding pest movement processes (e.g., use of herbivore-ingested transgenic plant tissues as markers to track pest insect movement). <li>Development of IPM and IRM programs that include a consideration of migration and dispersal (e.g. Whiteflies and their natural enemies in desert agriculture, Japanese beetle in blueberry). <li>Collaborative research and extension projects, and linkages to state, regional and national pest management programs (e.g., Soybean Rust Risk Assessment coordinated by NCR-148 committee members and associates affiliated with USDA-APHIS, North Carolina State University, University of Illinois, and the USDA-ARS/National Soybean Research Laboratory). <li>Online information exchange about research and extension activities related to migration and dispersal issues via interactive project websites (e.g., Soybean Aphid Watch and other Pest Watches supported through the North Central Pest Management Center:<a href="http://www.pmcenters.org/Northcentral/Saphid/aphidindex.htm"> http://www.pmcenters.org/Northcentral/Saphid/aphidindex.htm</a>.)</ul>
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
- Website. Redesign and update the NCR-148 website detailing Committee activities, events, research, and outreach. This will be linked to our comprehensive migration and dispersal website. This site has served as a communication hub for information exchange on migration and dispersal. http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cee/movement/ (site address may change in 2004).
- Reaching Stakeholders. Document and convey our findings through numerous research, extension, and popular publications (see attached list of manuscript collections and the NCR-148 web site for a list of refereed journal articles and books).
- Interdisciplinary Symposia. Continue to sponsor migration and dispersal related symposia at national meetings of the American Meteorological Society, Entomological Society of America, the Pan-American Aerobiology Association, the International Society of Biometeorology etc. to maintain the visibility this field to the international research community.
- Synergy/Collaboration. Continue to build collaborations formed within this group to develop transdisciplinary approaches to emerging challenges, resulting in multi-authored publications and grant proposals (see Addendum and NCR-148 web page).
Organization/Governance
Elected officers of NCR-148 serve a three-year term. Persons elected to the post of secretary for Year 1, become the vice-chair in Year 2, and committee chair in Year 3. NCR-148 committee officers seek administrative guidance from assigned Administrative Advisor and a CSREES Representative.
Literature Cited
Addendum I:
Collections of Publications and Book
Special Issue of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology on Aerial Dispersal of Pests, Diseases, and Their Natural Enemies: Implications for the Development and Deployment of Integrated Pest Management Strategies, vol. 97. 2000.
Field Measurements in Aerobiology, Paolo Mandrioli, Scott Isard and Charles E. Main (eds.), Institute of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, ISAO-CNR, Bologna, Italy 2000.
Preprints of the 14th AMS Conference on Biometeorology and Aerobiology, Symposia on (1) Scientific Challenges in Aerobiology for the 21st Century, (2) Detection, Modelling and Forecasting of Aerobiota, and (3) Aerobiology Curriculum Development, American Meteorological Society 2000.
Flow of Life in the Atmosphere: An airscape approach to understanding invasive organisms. Scott Isard and Stuart Gage, Michigan State University Press 2001.
Preprints of the 15th AMS Conference on Biometeorology and Aerobiology Joint with the 16th International Congress on Biometeorology, Symposia on (1) Bioterriorism, (2) Aerobiology (Insects), and (3) Aerobiology (Spores and Pollen). American Meteorology Society 2002.
Committee members have published more than 50 manuscripts on movement and dispersal since 2000. Comprehensive list provided on the NCR-148 web page.
Addendum II:
NCR-148 Sponsored/Organized Symposia (1999-2003)
Workshop on Dispersal of Insecticide Resistance in Helicoverpa virescens, Sponsored by NCR-148 and WCC-060 at the 1999 Entomological Society of America meeting in Atlanta, GA (December 1999).
Symposium on Long-Distance Aerial Movement of Biota. Sponsored by AFAR, NCR-148, and PAAA. New York Natural History Conference and PAAA annual meeting in Albany, NY (April 2000).
Advance Aerobiology Field Course. Sponsored by the International Aerobiology Association, AFAR, and NCR-148. Mt. Cimone, Italy (July 2000).
Helped organize and sponsor three movement and dispersal symposia, Agricultural Entomology, Plant Disease Vectors, and Ecology and Population Dynamics, XXI International Congress of Entomology, Iguassu Falls, Brazil. (August 2000).
Symposium on Scientific Challenges in Aerobiology for the 21st Century. Sponsored by AMS, PAAA, AFAR, and NCR-148. 14th AMS Conference on Biometeorology and Aerobiology (August 2000).
Symposium on Aerobiology Curriculum Development. Sponsored by AMS, PAAA, AFAR, and NCR-148. 14th AMS Conference on Biometeorology and Aerobiology (August 2000).
Symposium on Detection, Modelling and Forecasting of Aerobiota. Sponsored by AMS, PAAA, AFAR, and NCR-148. 14th AMS Conference on Biometeorology and Aerobiology (August 2000).
VII International Congress of Aerobiology. NCR-148 was a co-sponsor and organizer of the Congress held in Montebello, Canada (August 2002)
Symposium on Bioterriorism. Sponsored by AMS, PAAA, AFAR, and NCR-148. 15th AMS Conference on Aerobiology and Biometeorology joint with the International Congress on Biometeorology (October 2002).
Symposium on Aerobiology (Insects). Sponsored by AMS, PAAA, AFAR, and NCR-148. 15th AMS Conference on Aerobiology and Biometeorology joint with the International Congress on Biometeorology (October 2002).
Symposium on Aerobiology (Spores and Pollen. Sponsored by AMS, PAAA, AFAR, and NCR-148. 15th AMS Conference on Aerobiology and Biometeorology joint with the International Congress on Biometeorology (October 2002).
Symposium on Importance of Migration and Dispersal for Integrated Pest Management Systems. 2003 ESA Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Addendum III:
Synergy/Collaborations
Weather-Based Assessment of Soybean Rust Threat to North America. Collaborative project funded by APHIS involving Scott Redlin, Roger Magarey, and Hossien El-Nashaar (SPHST/APHIS), Charlie Main and Thomas Keever (North American Plant Disease Forecast Center, NCSU), Joseph M. Russo (ZedX Inc), Scott A. Isard (Illinois) and Stuart H. Gage (MSU).
Pesticide Reduction in the Face of Japanese Beetle Invasion: Testing a Local IPM Strategy in the Context of Regional Invasion. Collaborative project funded by CSREES North Central IPM program involving Rufus Isaacs (MSU) and Scott Isard (Illinois).
Aerial Dispersal Risk of Late Blight. Collaborative project funded by CSREES NRI grant program involving Elson Shields and W.E. Fry (New York) and Don Aylor (Connecticut). Field study extending from 1999 - 2001.
Advanced Aerobiology Field Course 2000. Scott Isard (Illinois), Charlie Main (North Carolina) and Elson Shields (New York). Field course taught in Italy.
Flow of Life in the Atmosphere. Book published in 2001 by Scott Isard (Illinois) and Stuart Gage (MSU).
Dispersal of Stable Flies. Carl Jones (Tennessee), David Kristovich and Scott Isard (Illinois), Edward Walker, Richard Merritt, and Stuart Gage (Michigan), and Jerome A. Hogsette (USDA-ARS-MAVERL). Research proposal.