2000 NCR-148 Meeting Summary

Migration and Dispersal of Insects and Other Biotic Agents
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
October 23-24, 2000
Rufus Isaacs & Gail E. Kampmeier

Rick Meyer, CSREES Representative provided an update on the development of Regional Pest Management Centers, and discussed how members of this committee could contribute to including migration and dispersal in their projects. He also updated the group on personnel changes within USDA-CSREES. He described the US Army Environmental Center which will be a link between the Dept. of Defense, USDA and the Land Grant Universities USDA and land grant universities, noting that the army has millions of acres of land that could be available for research, including pest management, invasive species, and migration work.

A Science & Education impact sheet was distributed, that provided information about success stories for research & extension. These are documents that are used by members of congress to determine how applied research is helping people’s lives. Rick suggested that each member of the group think about successful projects and work with a science communicator to compose a report including the money saved, yield increased, or opinions influenced. This has been successful for other regional committees to increase their visibility.

A discussion followed about the challenges to getting interdisciplinary projects funded, including the makeup of review panels, the time frame to get the review done is compressed so that ad hoc reviewers are harder to work with. In addition, the group discussed what the funding agencies are looking for from their stakeholder input which tends to be more immediate return and ‘fixes’ of agricultural problems.

Stuart Gage (Michigan), Mike Chippendale (Administrative Advisor), Rick Meyer (CSREES Representative)

MEETINGS

Joint meeting for 2001

Jon Neal was asked to describe the Resistance Management Committee (WCC 60). He said that they have State representatives from all land grand schools, and that 15-20 people usually attend meetings. The group is diverse with insecticide resistance and fungicide and herbicide resistance discussed. The group is interested in the science of development of resistance, molecular markers of resistance, and looking at spread of resistance, and so a focused meeting of the two groups would be beneficial. They generally meet at the end of May but would move to fall to accommodate the joint meeting with NCR-148.

Recent Meetings

Members of this committee were instrumental in organizing, and contributing to, scientific sessions at the International Congress of Entomology in Iguassu Falls, Brazil during August 2000. This brought together leaders in aerobiology and insect pest management to discuss the importance of long- and short-range insect movement in planning IPM programs. In addition, members were active in planning and participation of Aerobiology 2000, the annual symposium of the Pan-American Aerobiology Association in April 2000; AA 2000: 4th Advanced Aerobiology Course, a field course, sponsored by the International Aerobiology Association, AFAR, and NCR-148 in July 2000; Second European Symposium on Aerobiology, Vienna, Austria, in September 2000; American Meteorological Society Conference on Biometeorology and Aerobiology, Davis, CA, August 2000.

Future meetings

In 2002, the AMS Biometeorology & Aerobiology meeting will be in Kansas City, MO. The International Congress of Biometeorology will meet in conjunction with this meeting, and there was discussion of having the NCR-148 meeting in conjunction with these meetings because of the similar timing to our meeting. It is possible that the WCC 60 group may be interested in meeting then too, to continue the joint meeting between our groups.

The 7th International Congress on Aerobiology will be held in 2002 in Québec as a joint meeting with the Pan-American Aerobiology Association (PAAA).

In August 2002, the International Congress of Aerobiology will be held on Montebello River near Montreal

SEMINAR

Scott Isard presented the departmental seminar to the Department of Entomology on Monday afternoon, titled: "The Flow of Life in the Atmosphere". The seminar was well-attended by researchers from entomology, pathology, and geography, and there was a lively discussion after the talk. Much of the content for the talk was based on the recently-published book by Gage and Isard of the same title.

Later that evening, a reception was held at Stuart and Pat Gage’s house.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

During the last morning of committee business, the committee discussed funding opportunities for research related to the goals of the NCR-148 committee. It was suggested that a few insect models that are in the news could be targeted that might attract resources. The AFAR group was reported to be thinking about these large scale systems, but it does not have the ability to do consortium kind of work. Dr. Chippendale mentioned that the IFAFS and NSF biocomplexity RFPs were on the horizon, but that someone would need to take the initiative to bring a group proposal to the point of submittal.

Monarch butterflies were discussed in detail, and the pros and cons of studying a high-profile issue such as the effects of engineered corn on monarch movement and dispersal, were discussed. A regional committee on monarchs was planning to meet in Chicago on 16-17 Nov 2000, while the NC 502 committee will meet informally during the ESA-CES meeting in Montreal during December.

It was mentioned that our group needs to show success in terms of our understanding and application of knowledge regarding the process of migration & dispersal. Scott Isard’s presentation offers a framework for this, including the two different but interrelated systems of long-range and short range movements. The CSREES representative thought that we need to focus on one model system for IFAFS anyway (research, education, outreach deliverables), using a cropping systems approach. There are good reasons tat NCR-148 has been focused as a committee on the process of migration and dispersal because this is cross-organism and cross-commodity. However, future proposal would need to identify stakeholder issues and collaborate on writing proposals.

There was a charge by the committee that Scott Isard & Stuart Gage evaluate which of the research projects underway within the NCR-148 committee projects would fit into their bioflow framework. ANY

OTHER BUSINESS

Gary Hein, chair in 2001, suggested that new members be brought into the group and given more time to describe their research program to the group. He reminded each member to try and get their colleagues from other states or from their own state interested in the NCR-148 committee for next meeting.

The group thanked Rufus Isaacs & Stuart Gage for hosting the meeting

There being no other business, a motion to adjourn was proposed by Mike Chippendale, seconded by David Byrne, and carried unanimously. Formal committee business was concluded at 10.55 am on October 24, 2001.

TOUR

Once business was concluded on October 24th, a tour of the Computational Ecology and Visualization Laboratory was led by Stuart Gage. During the tour, the group was shown the new multi-state projects underway in Dr. Gage’s lab, aimed at understanding large scale patterns in ecological data.

STATE REPORTS

SEE also more extensive state research reports

Arizona researchers are examining dispersal of Eretmocerus species that are released to control whiteflies. Gender & mating status drive their flight capacity, and this is modulated by resource intensity. Females have been found to disperse further than males in the field studies. The implications of this research are that inundative releases of wasps would be better than inoculative releases because the speed of dispersal of the wasp is not fast enough the keep up with the whitefly hosts

Iowa researchers are active in numerous projects related to the consequences of engineered corn for non-target insects, such as the Monarch butterfly. The group is examining dose-response and some of the parameters of pollen dynamics under field and laboratory conditions, for inclusion in more complete exposure assessments. Dose-response relationships are being developed for monarch butterflies with Blair Siegfried at the University of Nebraska.

Cry1Ab - highly toxic to monarchs (neonates); less toxic to corn borers
Cry1Ac - less toxic to monarchs, less effective on corn borers
Cry9c - not too toxic to monarchs but effective against corn borers
Cry1F - needed high doses of this to kill neonates, but toxic to corn borers

Exposure assessment studies have shown that the caterpillars overlap with anthesis in only a narrow window. Pollen does not disperse very far, because of its weight, under most conditions and its direction is dependent on the wind. Pollen was quantified on corn leaves, and it was found that during one rain even 90% of pollen was washed off.

A report was presented from on the Monarch Workshop held in Kansas City, MO on Feb 24-25 2000 that was organized by USDA-ARS. The steering committee comprised Anna Hewings, Eldon Ortman, Mark Scriber, Eric Sachs and Margaret Mellon. These results are preliminary, but the current data show that Monarchs use corn fields more than was previously thought, in particular during dry seasons in IA. In the East, the opposite effect was found. Field tests have shown no impact of the Bt corn (i.e. no differences in larval weight gain feeding on milkweed plants in Bt and non-Bt cornfields). There is significant interest in understanding the movement of these insects in terms of refuge design for using Bt corn or cotton.

This presentation led to a conversation regarding the low funding potential for dispersal and movement research in general. Stuart Gage discussed the issue of transgenic corn and Monarch butterflies as an opportunity for aerobiologists to show how migration and dispersal research can be applied to an important agricultural problem.

Illinois scientists in collaboration with researchers in NY and CT have an NRI project to look at take off and ascent of potato late blight system. This group brings together meteorologists that monitor turbulence within the crop canopy, with an entomologist who is collecting the spores at different altitudes with a remote-controlled plane, and a pathologist who is modelling that phase of movement.

Western Corn Rootworm movement is being studied at multiple scales, showing that movement high in the air (at 10 m) occurs over short time periods, and mostly females are flying up high, and most are coming from corn fields just before being caught. Japanese beetle and Harmonia lady beetles are also being studied. Illinois scientists have also received funding from CFAR to study the genetics, physiology & behavior of WCR, and understanding movement is the key to this project.

Soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, has been found in many states of the North Central Region recently, and it is expected that this species has been here for at least two years. Researchers at a planning meeting in Chicago set priorities for research and extension and wanted a survey of pathogens or disease that may be transmitted by this insect. Fungal pathogen epizootics were found. It has now been found in KY, WV, IL, MI, WI, MN and Iowa and Missouri. A new committee, NC 502, has been established to address the management of A. glycines in soybeans. Eldon Ortman is the organizer of this committee, and Rick Meyer is the administrative liaison. The original description of this species was written in English by a Chinese researcher. This and other research publications can be found in the Soybean Information Research Center on the web. In IL, large population buildup has been found, but recommendations are not well developed for this pest yet.

Canada researchers developed an insect flight monitor through a partnership with an instrumentation company in Kingston, Ontario. Many members of the NCR-148 group are working in collaboration to test and develop this product, and to measure its performance under field conditions. The system includes data acquisition software for logging wingbeat waveforms, which include harmonics of the wingbeat frequency. The whole harmonic pattern is needed to distinguish between species of insects because the wingbeat frequency of an insect can change with temperature. Using video, a demonstration was made to explain the underlying concept of the system, in which reflections from individual wing cells are used as described in this fundamental equation: wing morphology x flight behavior = wing beat wave form (from a 1942 publication in Genetics 27:349-361).

The researchers have recorded aphid wingbeat waveforms in the laboratory using a DC halogen powered light source. The best way to present the data was as a spectrum of wave forms, and these have been analyzed with neural network in aphids, providing 69% accuracy, and with mosquitoes, where 92% accuracy was found.

The neural network is trainable, and can learn to identify specific insects of interest. This system has application in IPM for remote and automatic monitoring of pests and biocontrol agents. This was demonstrated by Meghan French a graduate student in the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University, who reported on her fieldwork to test the sensor. In her studies, 1237 insects were heard in just a 10 minute collection period. This work is the foundation of a NCR IPM proposal to detect what insects are active in orchards

In Ohio, studies of the immigration and emigration of aster leafhoppers in spring to lettuce has shown that epidemics of transmitted diseases are maintained after June by local dispersal. Simulations and validations were done on a small scale in Celeryville, OH muck farms using fluorescent dust and rabbit protein as markers. The dust was found to be much easier to use. Leafhoppers were collected using sticky traps at different heights on posts, and the researchers found that more leafhoppers were coming in than moving out of traps. Most leafhoppers were at less than 1 m, and at the higher traps, a greater proportion of males were found than females. The collected data were used to develop a simulation of aster leafhopper-aster yellows epidemiology, using the interface between simulation of epidemiology & GPS/GIS.

Len Francl, a plant pathologist from North Dakota, presented information on the dispersal of plant pathogens in wheat, primarily wheat tan spot. This is a residue disease of crops that are maintained as monocultures year after year. Studies have employed Burkhardt collectors in which the sampling machine has a wind vane facing into the wind. The results presented can be viewed in two publications:

Francl, L. J. 1997. Local and mesodistance dispersal of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis conidia. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology 19:247-255.

Francl, L., G. Shaner, G. Bergstrom, J. Gilbert, W. Pedersen, R. Dill-Macky, L. Sweets, B. Corwin, Y. Jin, D. Gallenberg, and J. Wiersma 1999. Daily inoculum levels of Gibberella zeae on wheat spikes. Plant Disease 83(7): 662-666.

Two graduate students from Michigan presented their recent data to the group. One presentation showed data from studies asking to what extent grape berry moth moves between wooded and vineyard habitats. Using bidirectional malaise traps at 5 ft and 30 ft (10 m), it was found that the dominant direction of movement was out of the woods and into the vineyard. The second presentation discussed the problems of western corn rootworm and the problems with rotation of corn and soybean in Michigan soybean fields. Feeding assays were done with choice and no choice situations, testing beetles from Illinois, Nebraska, and Michigan. This showed that all rootworms tested fed on soybean to some extent.

Nebraska scientists reported on the dispersal of wheat curl mite with respect to cropping systems. This pest transmits two 2 viruses including kernel red streak, and it is difficult to manage the mite because of its small size. Ecological studies were pioneered by Nault in the 1960s. In recent years, as center pivot irrigation systems have increased in the dry plains, wheat curl mite has become more of a pest problem. The older system of rotation reduced populations culturally. Without any summer moisture, corn doesn’t do well, such as during 2000, but it can survive on volunteer plants from previous plantings. In irrigated corn, mite densities peak near wheat maturity, whereas in irrigated corn, studies reveal more mite activity in mid to late fall when the wheat is planted. Wheat is the best host for this pest, with barley next, followed by corn. A new graduate student is working on plant condition related to mite movement, because as plants die due to roundup treatment, mite movement increases over 2 week period. However, this was not as much as in the untreated checks, where numbers built up into large populations. So, it is the control of volunteer corn that could be leading to Roundup™ flaring the mite populations. In addition, phoresy may be a factor in the movement of the mite.

There is encouraging evidence of plant resistance to wheat streak from Kansas, but researchers are determining whether the virus be able to overcome this because the virus is plastic.

These researchers are examining 5 different mite populations from different states, and finding that high plains virus is transmitted differentially among the populations. Predatory thrips populations are thought to decrease mite populations.

ATTENDANCE

State Representatives

David Byrne (AZ)
Mike Chippendale (Admin. Adv.)
Stuart Gage (MI) (co-rep)
Gary Hein (NE)
Richard Hellmich (IA) chair
Casey Hoy (OH) 1998 chair
Scott Isard (IL) (co-rep)
Rufus Isaacs (MI) (co-rep)
Gail Kampmeier (IL) (Sec/Treas.)
Rick Meyer (CSREES rep.)
Joseph Spencer (IL) (co-rep)
Len Francl (ND)

Michigan State University Visitors to the meeting

Dr. Gary Lemme, Assoc Dir MAES
Zsofia Foldvari
Natalia Botero Garces
Keith Mason
Nikhil Mallampalli
Jim Miller
Meghan French
Matt O’Neal

State Representatives absent from this meeting

Timothy Casey (NJ)
Gerrit Cuperus (OK)
Abner Hammond(LA) (co-rep)
Robert Hedlund (US-AID)
Tom Holtzer (CO)
Bill Hutchison (MN) (co-rep)
Michael Irwin (IL) (co-rep)
Seth Johnson (LA) (co-rep)
Armon Keaster (MO) (emeritus)
Charlie Main (NC)
Ken Ostlie (MN) (co-rep)
Elson Shields (NY)
Jim Venette (ND)
John Westbrook (ARS-TX)
Carlyle Brewster (VA)

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