Department of Entomology

Title:  “Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?” Enlightenment from DNA for biological control.

Abstract:  The accurate identification of pests and natural enemies is fundamental to developing successful biological control programs. There is growing awareness that many "morphological species" are in fact complexes of cryptic species and this can make identification of pests difficult. One aspect of my research focuses on identifying cryptic species and developing rapid and practical DNA-based methods to aid their identification. Furthermore, variation in DNA sequences can also be used to make inferences about the connectivity of populations of a species, and subsequently to predict likely sources of invading pest populations. Such information may reveal common entry pathways for invasive pests and direct the search for natural enemies that may be considered for biological control. Using examples from my work I will discuss simple methods, which exploit variation in the DNA sequences of individuals, to: resolve taxonomic and diagnostic issues; identify the area of origin and potential routes of entry of exotic pests; and to monitor the spread of such pests and performance of biological control agents.