Proposal for detecting coconut rhinoceros beetle breeding sites using harmonic radar (original) (raw)
Related papers
Environmental entomology, 2016
The coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros L., is a serious pest of coconut and other palms throughout Southeast Asia and on several Pacific Islands. Adults damage and sometimes kill palms when they bore into the crown to feed. In contrast, larvae feed only on dead plant material at breeding sites. Typically, coconut rhinoceros beetle populations are controlled with a combination of biocontrol, pheromone traps, and breeding site removal. A field trial was performed at two locations on Guam to test the feasibility of using the Judas technique, releasing radio-tagged adults to discover cryptic breeding sites, for potential coconut rhinoceros beetle control. Of 33 radio-tagged beetles that were released, 19 were successfully tracked to landing sites, 11 of which were considered to be active or potential breeding sites, in five different microhabitats. The remaining 14 beetles were lost when they flew beyond the range of receivers. Only one of the radio-tagged beetles was caught ...
Tracking the invasive hornet Vespa velutina in complex environments by means of a harmonic radar
Scientific Reports, 2021
An innovative scanning harmonic radar has been recently developed for tracking insects in complex landscapes. This movable technology has been tested on an invasive hornet species (Vespa velutina) for detecting the position of their nests in the environment, in the framework of an early detection strategy. The new model of harmonic radar proved to be effective in tracking hornets either in open landscapes, hilly environments and areas characterised by the presence of more obstacles, such as woodlands and urban areas. Hornets were effectively tracked in complex landscapes for a mean tracking length of 96 ± 62 m with maximum values of ~ 300 m. The effectiveness of locating nests was 75% in new invasive outbreaks and 60% in highly density colonised areas. Furthermore, this technology could provide information on several aspects of insect’s ecology and biology. In this case, new insights were obtained about the mean foraging range of V. velutina (395 ± 208 m with a maximum value of 786 ...
Design of an harmonic radar for the tracking of theAsian yellow‐legged hornet
Ecology and Evolution, 2016
The yellow-legged Asian hornet is an invasive species of wasps, indigenous to the Southeast Asia but recently spreading in Southern Europe. Because of its exponential diffusion and its serious threat to the local honeybee colonies (and to humans as well), restraint measures are currently under investigation. We developed and tested an harmonic radar capable of tracking the flying trajectory of these insects, once equipped with a small transponder, in their natural environment. Several hornets were captured close to a small cluster of honeybee hives, tagged with different transponders and then released in order to follow the flight toward their nest. On-field testing proved an initial maximum detection range of about 125 m in a hilly and woody area. A number of detections were clearly recorded, and preferential directions of flight were identified. The system herein described is intended as a first low-cost harmonic radar; it proved the capability to track the hornets while flying and it permitted to test the tagging techniques. Several upgrades of the system have been identified during this work and are extensively described in the last chapter. The designed system has three major advantages over conventional harmonic radars. First and most importantly, it adopts advanced processing techniques to suppress clutter and to improve target detection. Second, it allows radar operations in complex environments, generally hilly and rich in vegetation. Finally, it can continuously track tagged insects (24/7) and in any meteorological condition, providing an effective tool in order to locate the nests of the yellow-legged Asian hornet.
Design of an harmonic radar for the tracking 6 of the Asian yellow-legged hornet
15 d r a f t Summary 16 1. The yellow-legged Asian hornet is an invasive species of wasps, 17 indigenous of the South-East Asia but recently spreading in Southern 18 Europe. Because of its exponential diusion and its serious threat 19 to the local honey bee colonies (and to humans as well), restraint 20 measures are currently under investigation. 21 2. We developed and tested an harmonic radar capable of track-22 ing the ying trajectory of these insects, once equipped with a small 23 transponder, in their natural environment. 24 3. Several hornets were captured close to a small cluster of honey 25 bee hives, tagged with dierent transponders and then released in order 26 to follow the ight towards their nest. On eld testing proved an initial 27 maximum detection range of about 125 m in a hilly and woody area. A 28 number of detections were clearly recorded and preferential directions 29 of ight were identied.
PLOS ONE
Tephritid fruit flies, such as the melon fly,Zeugodacus cucurbitae, are major horticultural pests worldwide and pose invasion risks due primarily to international trade. Determining movement parameters for fruit flies is critical to effective surveillance and control strategies, from setting quarantine boundaries after incursions to development of agent-based models for management. While mark-release-recapture, flight mills, and visual observations have been used to study tephritid movement, none of these techniques give a full picture of fruit fly movement in nature. Tracking tagged flies offers an alternative method which has the potential to observe individual fly movements in the field, mirroring studies conducted by ecologists on larger animals. In this study, harmonic radar (HR) tags were fabricated using superelastic nitinol wire which is light (tags weighed less than 1 mg), flexible, and does not tangle. Flight tests with wild melon flies showed no obvious adverse effects of...
Perspectives and challenges for the use of radar in biological conservation
Ecography, 2018
Radar is at the forefront for the study of broad-scale aerial movements of birds, bats and insects and related issues in biological conservation. Radar techniques are especially useful for investigating species which fly at high altitudes, in darkness, or which are too small for applying electronic tags. Here, we present an overview of radar applications in biological conservation and highlight its future possibilities. Depending on the type of radar, information can be gathered on local-to continental-scale movements of airborne organisms and their behaviour. Such data can quantify flyway usage, biomass and nutrient transport (bioflow), population sizes, dynamics and distributions, times and dimensions of movements, areas and times of mass emergence and swarming, habitat use and activity ranges. Radar also captures behavioural responses to anthropogenic disturbances, artificial light and man-made structures. Weather surveillance and other long-range radar networks allow spatially broad overviews of important stopover areas, songbird mass roosts and emergences from bat caves. Mobile radars, including repurposed marine radars and commercially dedicated 'bird radars', offer the ability to track and monitor the local movements of individuals or groups of flying animals. Harmonic radar techniques have been used for tracking short-range movements of insects and other small animals of conservation interest. However, a major challenge in aeroecology is determining the taxonomic identity of the targets, which often requires ancillary data obtained from other methods. Radar data have become a global source of information on ecosystem structure, composition, services and function and will play an increasing role in the monitoring and conservation of flying animals and threatened habitats worldwide.
2020
The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (RPW) is a destructive insect pest of palm trees, destroying thousands of date palm trees in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and other countries. Radio telemetry has provided beneficial knowledge on the movements, the habitat preference, and reproductive behaviors of numerous species of animals. In this study, we tracked the movements and habitat preferences of RPW in date palm orchards in KSA using radio telemetry with and without the use of pheromone traps. This study is the first to track individual adult RPW using radio telemetry in production date palm orchards. Small radio transmitters (LB-2X, HOLOHIL) were glued on wild-caught adults and released in date palm orchard in late April and early May 2019. Our results indicated that wild-caught adult RPW with attached dummy transmitters were able to fly normally, whereas laboratory-reared adults were unable to fly successfully with attached transmitters. The flight behavior of the RPW adults was influenced by pheromone traps. The average flight of the RPW was 69.1 m (7.7-213 m) in the presence of pheromone traps and only 24.4 m (10-90 m) without pheromone traps. The mean distances females and males covered were 95.80 m and 42.40 m in the presence of pheromone traps and 32.47 m, 16.30 m in the absence of pheromone traps, respectively. The percentages of tagged adults that dispersed more than 50 m were 50% and 8.3% in the presence and absence of pheromone traps, respectively. Time required for taking-off from the release point was 5-20 min and 0.5-6 h in the presence and absence of pheromone traps, respectively. The aggregation rate was 33.3% and 75.0%, in the presence and absence of pheromone traps, respectively. Only a single flight was taken by each adult in the presence or absence of pheromone traps. Adults showed high preference in selecting habitats. RPW adults were attracted to infested or previously infested male palm trees, surface water of drip irrigation systems, and pheromone traps. In conclusion, radio telemetry appears to be a suitable technique to track RPW in date palm orchards when wild-caught adults are used.