Development Of Electronic Identification Resources In Support Of Food And Bio-Security

Invasive pests can have major impact on natural and agricultural systems, ultimately affecting food and bio-security in general. Repeated experiences from throughout the world have demonstrated that the ecological and economic costs for dealing with pest invasions are highly significant, especially when compared to investments in pest prevention strategies. In contrast, biological control agents are considered a vital part of natural and agricultural systems for their role in managing pests below economic injury levels. One vital step in pest prevention strategies is immediate and accurate identification of potential pests before these are able to spread and impact on agricultural and natural resources. It is also essential to be able to identify biological control agents. Taxonomists have the primary support role for identifying and/or verifying the identification of these species. Individuals responsible for supporting detection and identification of potential pests are depending further on electronic identification resources to support their activities, and for sharing their knowledge. Electronic identification resources, including keys, tools, species informational sheets (biology, ecology, distribution, hosts, etc.), and images are not yet available for many pest groups; however, each year we are seeing the electronic identification resource library growing. The Center for Biological Control is engaged in the development and also deployment of such identification resources by using the Internet, which facilitates easy access. To this end, we have deployed an identification tool for weevil biological control agents of aquatic and terrestrial weeds in the United States and Canada using a Lucid platform. Also in progress are two further such tools on pests (chrysomelids and weevils) and beneficial species (weevil pollinators) on cultivated palms, and invasive weevil species of economic importance which are present in the Caribbean and are of concern to the United States.