Alien Invaders in Hawaii: prospects for Remediation Using Biological Control

摘要

The Hawaiian islands are subject to a very high rate of arthropod invasions that severely impact agricultural, forest, medical, and urban landscapes, costing many millions of dollars in damage and control costs, and threatening the health and integrity of endangered species and natural ecosystems. For at least 100 years classical biological control has been a powerful tool used to fight these invasives and to remediate some of the damage that they cause. However, in recent years, for a variety of reasons, it has become more difficult to carry out biocontrol projects in the state, and the rate of natural enemy introductions has plummeted. The last two decades have seen a very sharp decline in the number of parasitoids released in the field, coinciding with a greatly heightened awareness of their possible impacts on non-target species.