There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of invasive species that have the potential to arrive and establish in any particular region or country. Identifying which species are more likely than others to arrive and establish is extremely difficult, yet the capacity to do so is vitally important to the biosecurity of a nation.

The aim of this project was to combine arrival likelihood with establishment likelihood to generate the invasion threat to Australia for 1,486 invasive fungal pathogens and insect pests, from all countries of the world.

Research outcomes

Arrival and establishment likelihood for Australia was estimated for 1,486 invasive insect pests and fungal plant pathogens. Arrival likelihood was estimated from the level of trade occurring between Australia and all other countries in millions of US$. Establishment likelihood was estimated by completing a SOM analysis of the worldwide distribution of the 1,486 invasive species. These two estimates were combined to generate a value for the invasion threat of all species in millions of US$. Considering all plant invasive species, China, USA and Japan poses the highest source of risk.

Research implications

Biosecurity agencies can use this information for further refinement of import risk assessments and inspection protocols. Further, the methodology presented here could be applied to any number of invasive species and the outputs generated be incorporated into any consultative process currently used to prioritise pest lists.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to CABI and Sue Worner for providing the CABI data and to Liam Thammavongsa for collating and editing the CABI and the IMF DOT data.

This project will develop a model for the assessment of biosecurity and quarantine threats of plant parasitic nematodes. It will also determine appropriate techniques for nematode identification, including traditional, molecular and remote diagnostic tools suitable for quarantine purposes.
Finally the project will evaluate the risk assessment model by testing results against reference data.

What is the biosecurity problem?

Plant parasitic nematodes cause documented losses of over AU$600 million annually to Australian agriculture industry. Australia is fortunate in lacking many of the known damaging species of nematodes, but with increasing volumes and sources of traded goods there is increased risk of these species gaining entry to Australia. In addition, newly-described and poorly-known nematode species have recently emerged as pests.

A comprehensive system of risk identification for plant parasitic nematodes is needed to direct development of risk mitigation, detection and diagnostic measures.

The main outputs of the project are to:

• assess the risk of invasive nematodes to Australia, and develop a standard methodology for this risk assessment.

Who will be the end-users of your research?

Biosecurity agencies, scientific researchers, horticultural industry.

This project will investigate the risk of the South African Citrus Thrips in Australia expanding its host range to include commercial crops, and asses the potential of this insect to damage those crops by placing it in the context of other pest thrips species.

What is the biosecurity problem?

South African Citrus Thrips has been recently detected in Australia, but, so far its spread appears to remain confined to the weed Mother of Millions. In South Africa, however, this insect is a pest of citrus, mango and other crops, and populations in Australia have been shown to feed on these plants. This insect may have value as a weed biological control agent, but the risk it presents to relevant crop growers must be further assessed.

The main outputs of this project are to:

• better asses the potential of South African Citrus Thrips to form new host associations
• improve understanding of other pest thrips in Australia
• communicate risk information to relevant stakeholders
• publish peer reviewed literature, and
• train a PhD student in recognising and working with Australian pest thrips. 

Who will be the end-users of your research?

The end users of this research will be fruit growers and graziers in Queensland and northern New South Wales, weeds officers, pest management professionals and research scientists.