Ecological Engineering for Pest Management : Advances in Habitat Manipulation for Arthropods

Contents Preface. 1. Ecological engineering habitat manipulation and pest management/G.M. Gurr S.L. Scarratt S.D. Wratten L. Berndt and N. Irvin. 2. Genetic engineering and ecological engineering a clash of paradigms or scope for synergy/M.A. Altieri G.M. Gurr and S.D. Wratten. 3. The agroecological bases of ecological engineering for pest management/C.I. Nicholls and M.A. Altieri. 4. The landscape context of arthropod biological control/M.H. Schmidt C. Thies and T. Tscharntke. 5. Use of behavioural and life history studies to understand the effects of habitat manipulation/M.A. Jervis J.C. Lee and G.E. Heimpel. 6. Molecular techniques and habitat manipulation approaches for parasitoid conservation in annual cropping systems/F.D. Menalled J.M. Alvarez and D.A. Landis. 7. Marking and tracking techniques for insect predators and parasitoids in ecological engineering/B. Lavandero S.D. Wratten J. Hogler and J. Tylianakis. 8. Precision agriculture approaches in support of ecological engineering for pest management/M. Coll. 9. Effects of agroforestry systems on the ecology and management of insect pest populations/M.A. Altieri and C.I. Nicholls. 10. The push pull strategy for stemborer management a case study in exploiting biodiversity and chemical ecology/Z.R. Khan and J.A. Pickett. 11. Use of sown wildflower strips to enhance natural enemies of agricultural pests/L. Pfiffner and E. Wyss. 12. Habitat manipulation for insect pest management in cotton cropping systems/R.K. Mensah and R.V. Sequeira. 13. Pest management and wildlife conservation compatible goals for ecological engineering/C. Kinross S.D. Wratten and G.M. Gurr. 14. Ecological engineering for enhanced pest management towards a rigorous science/G.M. Gurr S.D. Wratten and M.A. Altieri. Index. Ecological engineering is about manipulating farm habitats making them less favourable for pests and more attractive to beneficial insects. Though they've received far less research attention and funding ecological approaches may be safer and more sustainable than their controversial cousin genetic engineering. This book brings together contributions from international workers leading the fast moving field of habitat manipulation reviewing the field and paving the way towards the development and application of new pest management approaches. Chapters explore the frontiers of ecological engineering methods including molecular approaches high tech marking and remote sensing. They also review the theoretical aspects of this field and how ecological engineering may interact with genetic engineering. The technologies presented offer opportunities to reduce crop losses to insects while reducing the use of pesticides and providing potentially valuable habitat for wildlife conservation. With contributions from the USA UK Germany Switzerland Australia New Zealand Kenya and Israel this book provides comprehensive coverage of international progress towards sustainable pest management. 232 pp.…