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Weed Biocontrol articles

  1. Weed Biocontrol New Recruits

    Stephanie Morton (Auckland)

    Stephanie Morton

    Stephanie first joined Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research (MWLR) as a summer technician at our Tamaki site in 2018, shortly after completing her MSc in Biosecurity and Conservation through the University of Auckland. For her MSc, which focused on the c...

  2. The More the Merrier? Testing Efficacy of Multiple Agents

    NZ’s native forest remnants are important habitats, providing substantial conservation, scientific and aesthetic value. However, they are often detrimentally subjected to human disturbances, leading to understorey invasions by problematic weed species, including tradescantia.

  3. Old Man’s Beard Agents Show Promise

    Old man’s beard (Clematis vitalba), one of New Zealand’s worst and most widespread invasive alien plants, is a deciduous, climbing, layering vine that can grow up to 20 metres in height. In suitable habitats it rapidly dominates, smothers and eventually kills all types of vegetation.

  4. A New Aquatic Weed on the Radar

    Water celery (Helosciadium nodiflorum; synonym Apium nodiflorum) was recently highlighted as a problematic aquatic weed in New Zealand, yielding high scores in a weed risk assessment conducted by Paul Champion (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) in 2018.

  5. New Insights into Predicting Non-Target Impacts

    Weed biocontrol has several proven advantages over conventional control methods, yet concerns over its environmental safety persist. This is despite evidence that modern host range testing protocols are highly reliable. Globally, examples of biocontrol agents that cause persistent damage to non-targ...

  6. Weed Biocontrol Autumn Activities

    Weed Biocontrol autumn activities

  7. Biocontrol vs Herbicides – a Case Study on Heather

    Invasive non-native/exotic species have become so abundant and widespread throughout the world that their management is a prerequisite for the protection of native biodiversity and ecosystem services. Effective control of a target invasive species while avoiding direct non-target effects is essentia...

  8. MISCCAP – a New Collaboration for the Pacific

    A new project, “Managing Invasive Species for Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific”, is underway to allow Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) to take stronger action against invasive species and thereby build resilience to climate change. Invasive species make ecosystems and communi...

  9. Biocontrol for Singapore Daisy in the Pacific?

    Native to tropical America and parts of the Caribbean, Singapore daisy (Sphagneticola trilobata) has been introduced to the Pacific, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, but fortunately not to New Zealand. Since its arrival in Hawaii in 1965, Singapore daisy (Sphagneticola trilobata) h...

  10. Douglas Fir Evades Biocontrol Due to Parasitism

    Douglas fir is a large, evergreen conifer native to the cooler regions of western North America. Douglas fir has been planted extensively in New Zealand for timber production, and several seed orchards have been established. Like many other conifer species worldwide, Douglas fir escaped cultivation ...