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H2020Staff exchange2016–2019

INVASIoN · Impact of invasive alien true bug species in native tropich webs

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2016-03-01 → 2019-02-28
EU contribution
€238,500
Participants
7
Scheme
MSCA-RISE

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Impact of invasive alien true bug species in native tropich webs

When invasive herbivorous insect species invade new environments, they can not only cause serious economic losses to attacked economically important crops, but they also interact with local species, modifying the structure of local food webs with effects cascading across trophic levels. The INVASION project, by adopting a multidisciplinary approach to study the ecological impact of an alien insect invasion, investigates both the basic and applied consequences determined by the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), which is a pest of Asian origin that has recently invaded both North America and Europe, causing severe economic losses in orchards and field crops. The main project objectives are: 1) to evaluate the impact of alien herbivore invasion on local tritrophic interactions; 2) to evaluate the responses of parasitoids to infochemical evolutionary traps in a climate change context; 3) to study the contest behaviour of local egg parasitoids for possession of co-evolved and non-coevolved hosts; 4) to investigate the patch time allocation of local egg parasitoids after alien herbivore invasion using behavioural and modelling approaches; 5) to elucidate the molecular aspects of indirect plant defences against invasive and local pest species; 6) to investigate the genetic structure of invasive alien herbivores across Europe and North America. The invasion of a common pest in different continents, as the BMSB, poses serious threat to numerous agro-ecosystems. In this view, the project aims to achieve a deep understanding of the interactions among the alien pest and other insect community members associated with the same local crop in order to identify eco-friendly management tactics that can successfully control and reduce the pest status of native and invasive alien true bug species.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Insects can be accidentally introduced into non-native ecosystems by humans, or expand their geographical range toward the poles as a consequence of global warming. As they invade new environments, exotic species interact with local species, modifying the structure of local food webs. New associations arising from with biological invasions can impact the strength of existing links with effects cascading through trophic levels. When invasive species are herbivores that can attack economically important crops, they can cause serious economic losses. For example, recent invasion of the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) (Halyomorpha halys) in Europe and North America has the potential to interfere with local trophic webs and poses a serious threat to several agro-ecosystems. In this project, we will adopt a multidisciplinary approach to study the ecological consequences of BMSB invasions. In particular, we will focus on the effect of alien herbivore invasion on local natural enemies using the following work packages: 1) the impact of exotic herbivores on infochemical communication between plants, herbivores and natural enemies; 2) Learned responses of parasitoids to infochemical evolutionary traps in a climate change context; 3) Contest behaviour of local egg parasitoids for possession of co-evolved and non-coevolved hosts; 4) Patch time allocation of local egg parasitoids after alien herbivore invasion: behavioural and modelling approaches; 5) Molecular aspects of indirect plant defences against invasive and local species 6) Genetic structure of invasive alien herbivores across Europe and North AmericaThe proposed research will be of great relevance for the RISE call as it will be an unparalleled opportunity for complementary European and Canadian research groups to join forces, resulting in the development of lasting research collaborations, the transfer of knowledge between research institutions and improving research potential at the European and global levels.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PALERMO · PalermoCoordinatorItaly
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada · OntarioCanada
  • BENAKI PHYTOPATHOLOGICAL INSTITUTE · ATHINAGreece
  • INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT · ParisFrance
  • THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM · NottinghamUnited Kingdom
  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PERUGIA · PerugiaItaly
  • UNIVERSITE DE MONTREAL · MONTREALCanada

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union