Title: Weed study looks at effects of climate change on biological control
[Weekly Times 27 July 2011, p. 25] -- SCIENTISTS are studying the effect of climate on the bugs used to control one of Australia’s most invasive weeds, Paterson’s curse. This winter, scientists from the Charles Sturt University will survey sites in southern NSW, Victoria and South Australia, where the three main insect biological control agents have been released. Project leader Dr Paul Weston said plant and insect specimens would also be collected for further laboratory testing. Future greenhouse trials would help predict the effect of climate on the weed and the effectiveness of the biological control agents. "We will elevate the carbon dioxide to levels that are expected to occur 50 or 100 years from now, to see what impact this will have on the plants and the insects and the interaction between them," Dr Weston said. He said recent rainfall had provided ideal conditions for Paterson’s curse to germinate, and it would be interesting to see how the biological control insects survived previous years of drought.The project has received more than $100,000 from the National Weeds and Productivity Research Program through the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation for the first year of the study.
Caption Text: Rampant: Paterson’s curse has thrived after recent rains.
