Behind an airlocked door, in some tightly sealed laboratories, a series of agents are being put through their paces – to check if they are up for the task.
Dr Ronny Groenteman, Arnaud Cartier and Dr Angela Bownes at the Invertebrate Containment Facility. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ
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The Chilean flame creeper beetle is one of these agents – it’s small and shiny, almost a bronze colour. This, Dr Ronny Groenteman hopes, might be the next recruit in the battle against weeds.
Aotearoa has thousands of exotic plant weeds, hundreds of which are causing major issues. The Chilean flame creeper is one of these. It grows rapidly and smothers native plants. So, Ronny and her colleagues are trying to find a biocontrol agent that can keep it in check.
Dr Ronny Groenteman with a Chilean flame creeper plant in the shade house. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ
Biological control, or biocontrol, involves recruiting natural predators of a species from its host country. The dream agent will be extremely plant specific, good at dispersing far and wide, as well as reproducing in large numbers and escaping predation itself.
Listen to the episode to learn how research into biocontrol agents is conducted at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research’s invertebrate containment facility in Lincoln.
To learn more:
- Listen to the full Our Changing World episode.
