Predicting natural enemy efficacy in biological control using ex-ante analyses.

ABSTRACT: Massive losses in agricultural and natural systems accrue globally due to invasive species, and yet the success rate of natural enemy introductions to control them is low. The high failure rate is due to the unknown efficacy of the introduced natural enemies. Furthermore, reviews of prior biological control efforts have not led to the development of assessment methods to predict their pre-release efficacy. To demonstrate a potential solution, we deconstructed the biological control of the invasive cassava mealybug (CM) and cassava green mite (CGM) in Africa using weather-driven metapopulation tri-trophic physiologically based demographic models (PBDMs). Bioeconomic analysis of the simulation results enabled parsing the contributions of the introduced natural enemies and endemic fungal path

SUBMITTER: Gutierrez AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12748761 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature