FRUIT FLIES SGGW · Stochastic model of on-farm fruit fly behaviour and their response to IPM interventions

Stochastic model of on-farm fruit fly behaviour and their response to IPM interventions

The purpose of this four-year International Reintegration Grant (IRG) was to facilitate reintegration of the researcher Dr Slawomir A. Lux who returned to Europe after 15 years of conducting research at the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya (ICIPE). The grant resources were used to support the process of re-establishing his base in the research sector in Poland, where areas of his expertise remain under-represented. As stipulated by the project work plan, on 1 October 2007 the project was formally established at the host institution - Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW) (formerly: Warsaw Agricultural University (SGGW)) in Warsaw, Poland. The project ended up on 30 September 2011, was executed according to the approved work plan, and all its objectives were accomplished. The researcher established formal and lasting ties with the host institution (WULS-SGGW), continued research in his areas of expertise, remained active in international collaboration and organisations, maintained professional presence through active participation in international meetings and conferences, continued publishing in reputed journals, expanded his qualifications on micro-encapsulation techniques of biologically active compounds and European-patent and intellectual-property (IP) regulations, developed a 'stochastic model of on-farm fruit fly behaviour and their response to IPM interventions', and prepared a treatise on 'ethological diagnosis of insect behaviour for enhancement of integrated pest management'. In 2010, he conceptualised and organised an internal research consortium (Warsaw Plant Health Cluster (WPHC)), comprising nine research teams from five departments of the Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture (WULS-SGGW). He assured sustainability of his research efforts through authoring a successful application for FP7 (REGPOT-CT-2011-286093, Warsaw Plant Health Initiative), with approved budget of EUR 4 million. In this project, 28 European partner research institutions are involved. Currently, he was appointed to lead this new WPHC consortium and the REGPOT project, which formally started on 1 November 2011, and will continue till the end of April 2015. Resources of this newly acquired RGPOT project will also allow him to sustain and stabilise his own research activities, organise his research team of Applied Insect Ethology and equip a specialised laboratory of Micro-encapsulation of biologically active chemicals, as originally envisaged under this EC-IRG project. In recognition of his qualifications, experience and contributions made during the EC-IRG-supported reintegration period, he was offered a position of a university professor at our faculty.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union