Evaluating the establishment of a new water hyacinth biological control agent in South Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/2254-8854/2023/a15613Keywords:
Megamelus scutellaris, Pontederia crassipes, biological control, mass rearing, post-release evaluation, DelphacidaeAbstract
Megamelus scutellaris Berg (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) is the most recent of nine biological control agents developed to manage invasive water hyacinth, Pontederia (=Eichhornia) crassipes Mart. (Pontederiaceae), in South Africa. More than a million M. scutellaris have been mass-reared and released since the first introduction of the agent into South Africa in 2013, successfully establishing overwintering populations at 32 sites in seven of the nine provinces. Establishment has also been recorded at seven of these sites through natural dispersal from sites where they had established. Inundative releases, where large numbers of M. scutellaris are released regularly, have resulted in excellent establishment, and caused a significant reduction in water hyacinth cover in areas where, historically, biological control seemed unlikely due to excessive eutrophication. Although M. scutellaris has established well throughout South Africa through classical biological control methods, this study also showed that inundative releases of biological control agents over multiple seasons results in the most effective control of the weed, especially at cool temperate and eutrophic sites.
Downloads
References
Bashir MO, El Abjar ZE, Irving NS. 1984. Observations on the effect of the weevils Neochetina eichhorniae Warner and Neochetina bruchi Hustache on the growth of water hyacinth. Hydrobiologia. 110(1):95–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00025780.
Bickford D, Lohman DJ, Sodhi NS, Ng PKL, Meier R, Winker K, Ingram KK, Das I. 2007. Cryptic species as a window on diversity and conservation. Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 22(3):148–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2006.11.004.
Byrne M, Hill MP, Robertson M, King A, Jadhav A, Katembo N, Wilson J, Brudvig R, Fisher J. 2010. Integrated management of water hyacinth in South Africa: development of an integrated management plan for water hyacinth control, combining biological control, herbicidal control and nutrient control, tailored to the climatic regions of South Africa. Water Research Commission TT 454/10: 1–302.
Coetzee JA. 2013. Permission to release the planthopper, Megamelus scutellaris Berg. (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), a potential biological control agent of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes. Makhanda: Department of Zoology & Entomology, Rhodes University. pp 1–34.
Coetzee JA, Hill MP. 2012. The role of eutrophication in the biological control of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in South Africa. BioControl. 57(2):247–261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-011-9426-y.
Coetzee JA, Bownes A, Martin GD, Miller BE, Smith R, Weyl PSR, Hill MP. 2021. A review of the biocontrol programmes against aquatic weeds in South Africa. African Entomology. 29(3):935–964.
https://doi.org/10.4001/003.029.0935.
Coetzee JA, Byrne MJ, Hill MP. 2007. Predicting the distribution of Eccritotarsus catarinensis, a natural enemy released on water hyacinth in South Africa. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 125(3):237–247. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2007.00622.x.
Coetzee JA, Hill MP, Byrne MJ. 2008. Ten years after the release of the water hyacinth mirid Eccritotarsus catarinensis in South Africa: what have we learnt? In: Anonymous Proceedings of the XII International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds, La Grande Motte, France, 22–27 April 2007. Wallingford: CAB International. Pp 512–515.
Coetzee JA, Miller BE, Kinsler D, Sebola K, Hill MP. 2022. It’s a numbers game: inundative biological control of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes), using Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) yields success at a high elevation, hypertrophic reservoir in South Africa. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 32(11):1302–1311.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2022.2109594.
Denno RF, Roderick GK. 1992. Density-related dispersal in planthoppers: effects of interspecific crowding. Ecology. 73(4):1323–1334.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1940679.
Fitzgerald D, Tipping PW. 2013. Effect of insect density and host plant quality on wing-form in Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: delphacidae). Florida Entomologist. 96(1):124–130. https://doi.org/10.
/024.096.0116.
Foley JR, Minteer C, Tipping PW. 2016. Differences in seasonal variation between two biotypes of Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), a biological control agent for Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae) in Florida. Florida Entomologist. 99(3):569–571. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.099.0340.
Goode ABC, Tipping PW, Minteer CR, Pokorny EN, Knowles BK, Foley JR, Valmonte RJ. 2021. Megamelus scutellaris (Berg) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) biology and population dynamics in the highly variable landscape of southern Florida. Biological Control. 160:104679.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2021.104679.
Grevstad FS. 1999. Factors Influencing the chance of population establishment: implications for release strategies in biocontrol. Ecological Applications. 9(4):1439–1447. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-
(1999)009[1439:FITCOP]2.0.CO;2.
Griffith TC, Paterson ID, Owen CA, Coetzee JA. 2019. Thermal plasticity and microevolution enhance establishment success and persistence of a water hyacinth biological control agent. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 167(7):616–625. https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.12814.
Grodowitz MJ, Harms NE, Freedman JE. 2017. The influence of fluctuating temperature on Megamelus scutellaris Berg (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. 39180: 1–5.
Grodowitz MJ, Johnson SJ, Harms NE. 2014. The Use of Megamelus scutellaris Berg in the southern United States as a biocontrol agent of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.)). U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, 39180: 1-14.
Harms NE, Knight IA, Pratt PD, Reddy AM, Mukherjee A, Gong P, Coetzee J, Raghu S, Diaz R. 2021. Climate mismatch between introduced biological control agents and their invasive host plants: improving biological control of tropical weeds in temperate regions. Insects. 12(6):549. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12060549.
Hill MP, Coetzee JA. 2017. The biological control of aquatic weeds in South Africa: current status and future challenges. Bothalia. 47(2):e1–e12. https://doi.org/10.4102/abc.v47i2.2152.
Hill MP, Conlong D, Zachariades C, Coetzee JA, Paterson ID, Miller BE, Foxcroft L, Van Der Westhuizen L. 2021. The role of mass-rearing in weed biological control projects in South Africa. African Entomology. 29(3):1030–1044. https://doi.org/10.4001/003.029.1030.
Hill MP, Cilliers CJ. 1999. A review of the arthropod natural enemies, and factors that influence their efficacy, in the biological control of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms-Laubach (Pontederiaceae), in South Africa. African Entomology. Memoir.(1):103–112.
Hill MP, Olckers T. 2001. Biological control initiatives against water hyacinth in South Africa: constraining factors, success and new courses of action. In: Second Meeting of the Global Working Group for the Biological and Integrated Control of Water Hyacinth, Beijing, China. ACIAR Proceedings: 33-38.
Hoffmann JH, Moran VC, Hill MP. 2019. Conceptualizing, categorizing and recording the outcomes of biological control of invasive plant species, at a population level. Biological Control. 133:134–137.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2019.02.005.
Jones RW. 2014. Aquatic Invasions of the Nseleni River System: Causes, Consequences and Control. PhD Thesis, Rhodes University, South Africa.
May B, Coetzee JA. 2013. Comparisons of the thermal physiology of water hyacinth biological control agents: predicting establishment and distribution pre‐and post‐release. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 147(3):241–250. https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.12062.
McFadyen REC. 1998. Biological control of weeds. Annual Review of Entomology. 43(1):369–393. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.43.1.369.
Miller BE, Coetzee J, Hill M. 2019. Chlorophyll fluorometry as a method of determining the effectiveness of a biological control agent in post-release evaluations. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 29(11):1118–1122. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2019.1656165.
Miller BE, Coetzee JA, Hill MP. 2021. Mind the gap: the delayed recovery of a population of the biological control agent Megamelus scutellaris Berg. (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) on water hyacinth after winter. Bulletin of Entomological Research. 111(1):120–128. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485320000516.
Moran VC, Zachariades C, Hoffmann JH. 2021. Implementing a system in South Africa for categorizing the outcomes of weed biological control. Biological Control. 153:104431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2020.104431.
Mukherjee A, Knutson A, Hahn DA, Heinz KM. 2014. Biological control of giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) in a temperate region: cold tolerance and low temperature oviposition of Cyrtobagous salviniae. BioControl (Dordrecht, Netherlands). 59(6):781–790. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-014-9617-4.
Paterson ID, Coetzee JA, Weyl P, Griffith TC, Voogt N, Hill MP. 2019. Cryptic species of a water hyacinth biological control agent revealed in South Africa: host specificity, impact, and thermal tolerance. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 167(7):682–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.12812.
Peel MC, Finlayson BL, McMahon TA. 2007. Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 11(5):1633–1644. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007.
Porter JD, Owen CA, Compton SG, Coetzee JA. 2019. Testing the thermal limits of Eccritotarsus catarinensis: a case of thermal plasticity. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 29(6):565–577. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2019.1572712.
Pratt PD, Moran PM, Pitcairn MJ, Reddy A, O’Brien J. 2021. Biological control of invasive plants in California’s Delta: Past, present, and future. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management. 59(S):55–66.
Reddy AM, Pratt PD, Hopper JV, Cibils-Stewart X, Walsh GC, Mc Kay F. 2019. Variation in cool temperature performance between populations of Neochetina eichhorniae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and implications for the biological control of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in a temperate climate. Biological Control. 128:85–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2018.09.016.
Schaffner U, Hill M, Dudley T, D’Antonio C. 2020.Post-release monitoring in classical biological control of weeds: assessing impact and testing pre-release hypotheses. Current Opinion in Insect Science. 38:99–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2020.02.008.
Singh G, Reynolds C, Byrne M, Rosman B. 2020. A Remote Sensing Method to Monitor Water, Aquatic Vegetation, and Invasive Water Hyacinth at National Extents. Remote Sensing (Basel). 12(24):4021. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12244021.
Sosa AJ, Lenicov AMMDR, Mariani R, Cordo HA. 2005. Life history of Megamelus scutellaris with description of immature stages (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 98(1):66–72. https://doi.org/10.1603/0013-8746(2005)098[0066:LHOMSW]2.0.CO;2.
Sosa AJ, Cordo HA, Sacco J. 2007. Preliminary evaluation of Megamelus scutellaris Berg (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), a candidate for biological control of waterhyacinth. Biological Control. 42(2):129–138.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2007.04.012.
Sutton GF, Compton SG, Coetzee JA. 2016. Naturally occurring phytopathogens enhance biological control of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) by Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), even in eutrophic water. Biological Control. 103:261–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2016.10.003.
Tipping PW, Center TD, Sosa AJ, Dray FA. 2011. Host specificity assessment and potential impact of Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) on water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiales: Pontederiaceae). Biocontrol Science and Technology. 21(1):75–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2010.525739.
Tipping PW, Martin MR, Pokorny EN, Nimmo KR, Fitzgerald DL, Dray FA Jr, Center TD. 2014a. Current levels of suppression of water hyacinth in Florida USA by classical biological control agents. Biological Control. 71:65–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2014.01.008.
Tipping PW, Sosa A, Pokorny EN, Foley J, Schmitz DC, Lane JS, Rodgers L, McCloud L, Livingston-Way P, Cole MS, et al. 2014b. Release and establishment of Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) on water hyacinth in Florida. Florida Entomologist. 97(2):804–806. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.097.0264.
Venter N, Hill MP, Hutchinson SL, Ripley BS. 2013. Weevil borne microbes contribute as much to the reduction of photosynthesis in water hyacinth as does herbivory. Biological Control. 64(2):138–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2012.10.011.
Wilson JRU, Ajuonu O, Center TD, Hill MP, Julien MH, Katagira FF, Neuenschwander P, Njoka SW, Ogwang J, Reeder RH, et al. 2007. The decline of water hyacinth on Lake Victoria was due to biological control by Neochetina spp. Aquatic Botany. 87(1):90–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2006.06.006.
Zera AJ, Denno RF. 1997. Physiology and ecology of dispersal polymorphism in insects. Annual Review of Entomology. 42(1):207–230. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.42.1.207.
Zhou Z, Guo J, Ai H, Li M, Wan F. 2011. Rapid cold-hardening response in Ophraella communa LeSage (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a biological control agent of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 21(2):215–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2010.534549.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Benjamin Miller, Julie Coetzee, Martin Hill
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}