Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Animals: other

• Community and Urban Pest Management: public health

• Ecosystem: Ecosystem

• Human Health: workers, residents, applicators

• Natural Areas: wildlife

Target Pests

• Target Pests: Asian tiger mosquito, insects, other

Practices

• Pest Management: behavioral control, biological control, chemical control, decision support system, disease vectors, eradication, habitat modification, mechanical control, modeling, monitoring/scouting, pesticide application timing, pesticide resistance management, pesticides, precision pesticide use, prevention, traps

• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity

• Sustainable Communities: public participation, public policy, quality of life

i) The problem or opportunity
In the southeastern United States, several mosquitoes of medical and veterinary importance are invasive mosquito species and their presence increases the risk of arbovirus transmission to humans and livestock. Uncoordinated surveillance and control efforts across districts or states can be costly, resulting in incomplete risk assessments, suboptimal use of insecticides, biased estimates of mosquito diversity and abundance, and missed opportunities to detect new threats to public health safety. Here, we propose the continuation of the working group - Mosquito BEACONS: Biodiversity Enhancement And Control of Non-native Species - with a goal of implementing an IPM approach for the monitoring and control of invasive mosquito species in the Southern Region. The objectives are to:
(1) Reevaluate IPM research and Extension priority areas through stakeholder meetings.
(2) Describe the capacity for invasive species surveillance by surveying stakeholders.
(3) Improve knowledge transfer through stakeholder engagement. 

ii) The approach
We will bring leadership in the mosquito control communities together to reevaluate priority areas for invasive species in research and Extension, identify new stakeholder needs, build strong multi-state and -county collaborations, and promote sustainable IPM infrastructure. An invasive species surveillance capacity survey administered via Qualtrics will be utilized to directly engage mosquito control and pest management agencies to identify gaps in surveillance and knowledge. Extension websites will improve the efficiency of information transfer, while an invasive mosquito species dashboard will provide a forum for reporting findings in a timely and efficient manner. Lastly, a workshop will be held to fill gaps in knowledge identified in objectives 1 and 2, discuss emerging issues, and train mosquito control professionals on our database/dashboard.

iii) The anticipated impact
Through these objectives we will increase awareness of invasive mosquito issues and enhance surveillance and control capacity in the Southern Region. Stakeholder meetings and an invasive species surveillance capacity survey will be utilized to identify gaps in surveillance and knowledge. This critical information can then be used to develop targeted sampling regimes (i.e., utilizing trap types and sampling approaches that bias towards the target organism/s), diversified surveillance strategies (employing various methodologies to maximize effectiveness), and training modules. By implementing a Training of the Trainers approach the workshop will support the training and development of IPM professionals, providing representatives from each participating State with the tools required to efficiently disseminate information to stakeholders. Our dashboard capabilities will provide a forum for real time pest/disease/biocontrol monitoring and IPM decision support that will improve decision support capacity through data transparency, accessibility, and interactivity.

This project addresses critical IPM issues (SERA Priorities 2021):
(a) Invasive pests (e.g. new pest associations, etc)
(b) Host range expansion and top regional priorities: mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) and Arthropod-borne diseases, including Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, and West Nile Virus.

IPM evaluation (SERA Priorities 2021) will be facilitated through:
(c) Creating new or updating existing resources to address stakeholder needs (pest management strategic plans, websites, webinars, and other online training tools, pest ID guides),
(d) Developing new or improving/implementing existing programs (Real time pest/disease/biocontrol monitoring and IPM decision support, IPM demonstrations, resources to support continued development of IPM Database)