Global perspectives and transdisciplinary opportunities for locust and grasshopper pest management and research

Locusts and other migratory grasshoppers are transboundary pests. Monitoring and control, therefore, involve a complex system made up of social, ecological, and technological factors. Researchers and those involved in active management are calling for more integration between these siloed but often interrelated sectors. In this paper, we bring together 38 coauthors from six continents and 34 unique organizations, representing much of the social-ecological-technological system (SETS) related to grasshopper and locust management and research around the globe, to introduce current topics of interest and review recent advancements. Together, the paper explores the relationships, strengths, and weaknesses of the organizations responsible for the management of major locust-affected regions. The authors cover topics spanning humanities, social science, and the history of locust biological research and offer insights and approaches for the future of collaborative sustainable locust management. These perspectives will help support sustainable locust management, which still faces immense challenges such as fluctuations in funding, focus, isolated agendas, trust, communication, transparency, pesticide use, and environmental and human health standards. Arizona State University launched the Global Locust Initiative (GLI) in 2018 as a response to some of these challenges. The GLI welcomes individuals with interests in locusts and grasshoppers, transboundary pests, integrated pest management, landscape-level processes, food security, and/or cross-sectoral initiatives

The limitations of locust preventive management faced with spatial uncertainty: exploration with a multi-agent model

International audienceBACKGROUND The spatial structure of locust outbreaks is a major aspect of preventive management that relies on where survey teams have to be sent if they are to react in time to any upsurge. The concentration of areas propitious to outbreaks has been documented for many species. Areas where preventive management fails to collect information because of insecurity or remoteness constitute other limits. We explored these conditions using a spatially explicit multi-agent model representing a preventive management system. We simulated areas where field teams had limited or no access and areas where the probability of initial outbreaks was concentrated in hotspots. RESULTS A strong effort by the budget holder to maintain funding over time might be cancelled out with 5% of a territory having limited access. The larger the area of no access, the worse the proportion of plague years. Multiple no access areas generated more plagues than only one no access area of an equivalent size because more fronts must be controlled. Concentrating outbreaks in hotspots increased the probability of plagues. One hotspot alone was easier to control than several same-sized hotspots. The period of the budget holder's cyclical behaviour between awareness and reduction in funding was longer with one hotspot than with several. CONCLUSION These results highlight the need to consider the spatial conditions and accessibility of locust species when planning the sustainability of management systems. Despite significant budgets to set in place a preventive management system, cyclical locust outbreaks may be related to these spatial conditions. (c) 2019 Society of Chemical Industr

From Molecules to Management: Mechanisms and Consequences of Locust Phase Polyphenism

Locusts are grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) that are characterised by their capacity for extreme population density-dependent polyphenism, transforming between a cryptic solitarious phase that avoids other locusts, and a swarming gregarious phase that aggregates and undergoes collective migration. The two phases differ in many aspects of behaviour, physiology and ecology, making locusts a useful model through which to investigate the phenotypic interface of molecular processes and environmental cues. This review summarises recent progress in understanding the mechanisms and consequences of locust phase change, from differential gene expression and epigenetic regulation through to neuronal plasticity and altered behaviour. The impact of techniques such as RNA interference and the sequencing of the first locust genome are discussed, and we consider the evidence from comparative analyses between related locust species for the possible evolution of locust-like phenotypic plasticity. Collective movement, and new ways of measuring the behaviour of both migrating bands in the field and individuals in the laboratory, are analysed. We also examine the environmental factors that affect phase change, along with the wider impact of land use and management strategies that may unwittingly create environments conducive to outbreaks. Finally, we consider the human costs of locust swarming behaviour, and use combined social, economic and environmental approaches to suggest potential ways forward for locust monitoring and management

From Molecules to Management: Mechanisms and Consequences of Locust Phase Polyphenism

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Locusts are grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) that are characterised by their capacity for extreme population density-dependent polyphenism, transforming between a cryptic solitarious phase that avoids other locusts, and a swarming gregarious phase that aggregates and undergoes collective migration. The two phases differ in many aspects of behaviour, physiology and ecology, making locusts a useful model through which to investigate the phenotypic interface of molecular processes and environmental cues. This review summarises recent progress in understanding the mechanisms and consequences of locust phase change, from differential gene expression and epigenetic regulation through to neuronal plasticity and altered behaviour. The impact of techniques such as RNA interference and the sequencing of the first locust genome are discussed, and we consider the evidence from comparative analyses between related locust species for the possible evolution of locust-like phenotypic plasticity. Collective movement, and new ways of measuring the behaviour of both migrating bands in the field and individuals in the laboratory, are analysed. We also examine the environmental factors that affect phase change, along with the wider impact of land use and management strategies that may unwittingly create environments conducive to outbreaks. Finally, we consider the human costs of locust swarming behaviour, and use combined social, economic and environmental approaches to suggest potential ways forward for locust monitoring and management.status: publishe