Abstract
Probably the most active current debate in biological control concerns the negative effects of biological control (compare, for example, the views expressed by Hopper (1998) and Howarth (1991)). Most practitioners would, however, acknowledge the potential for biological control to go wrong and unpredicted off-target impacts to result. Howarth (Chapter 13) presents an analysis of this aspect, illustrated with a range of examples. In Australia the typical ‘dinner-party response’ to the announcement that one works in biological control is ‘No more cane toads please!’. Certainly the introduction of this agent (Bufo marinus L.) to Australia in 1935 has led to many off-target effects resulting from its highly polyphagous nature and venomous defence glands (Twyford, 1991). Its range is extending by 27 km per annum and there is no prospect of its impact being lessened. Such episodes, which are echoed by other contributors to this volume, illustrate the need for biological control to be undertaken in a more rigorous and less hit-and-miss fashion than has sometimes been the case in the past. It will be critical to understand that populations of organisms (including biological control agents) continue to adapt and evolve so pre-release testing cannot guarantee the long-term behaviour, host range and geographical range of the agent after its release (Chapter 1, Section 3.2.2).
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Wratten, S.D., Gurr, G.M. (2000). Synthesis: The Future Success of Biological Control. In: Gurr, G., Wratten, S. (eds) Biological Control: Measures of Success. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4014-0_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4014-0_14
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