SEES Fellows: A bio-economic study of an introduced biological control agent: ecological, evolutionary, and economic factors in sustainable agricultural systems

这个跨学科的项目将使用先进的基因组测序技术来研究生物防治剂是如何建立的，如何经历遗传变异，以及如何适应新的环境。遗传评估将使用一种全球分布的瓢虫，七星瓢虫，来研究人类引进努力和影响这种捕食者在美国建立和传播的人口统计过程之间的关系。该研究还将包括一项事后效益-成本分析，以评估使用七星瓢虫作为生物防治剂的经济价值。生物防治，即引入天敌来控制农业系统中的害虫和杂草，可以通过减少对农药的需求来促进可持续农业和环境，并加强生物多样性、食品安全和人类健康。尽管历史悠久，但经典生物防治尚未发展成为一门预测性科学，经常导致意想不到的生态和经济成本。为了提高生物防治药剂的可持续使用，决策者需要更好的工具来理解生物防治项目是需要综合生态学、进化生物学和经济学知识的多学科努力。本项目将研究一种广泛分布的瓢虫作为模型防治剂，旨在改进目前引进有益昆虫用于生物防治应用的方法和程序。该项目的首席研究员还将积极参与一个国际生物防治工作组，并将与当地一所中学的教师和学生一起设计可持续发展科学课程。该项目由美国国家科学基金会科学、工程和教育可持续发展研究员（SEES研究员）计划支持，其目标是帮助实现必要的发现，为导致环境、能源和社会可持续发展的行动提供信息，同时创造必要的劳动力来应对这些挑战。在see研究员的支持下，该项目将使有前途的早期职业研究人员能够在与可持续性相关的独立研究生涯中建立自己的职业生涯。

This interdisciplinary project will use advanced genomic sequencing techniques to investigate how biological control agents are established, undergo genetic variation, and adapt to novel environments. The genetic evaluation will use a globally distributed species of ladybeetle, Coccinella septempunctata, to study the relationship between human introduction efforts and demographic processes that affect the establishment and spread of this predator in the United States. The study will also include an ex-post benefit-cost analysis to assess the economic value of using C. septempunctata as a biological control agent. Biological control, the introduction of natural enemies to control pests and weeds in agricultural systems, can promote sustainable agriculture and environment, and enhance biodiversity, food safety, and human health, by reducing the need for pesticides. Despite a long history, classical biological control has not developed as a predictive science, frequently resulting in unexpected ecological and economic costs. To improve the sustainable use of biological control agents, decision makers need better tools to understand biological control programs as multidisciplinary efforts that require integrated knowledge of ecology, evolutionary biology, and economics. This project will study a widely distributed ladybeetle as a model control agent with the intent of improving current methods and procedures for the introduction of beneficial insects for biological control applications.The principal investigator on this project will also be an active participant in an international biological control working group, and will work with teachers and students on the design of sustainability science courses at a local middle school. This project is supported under the NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows (SEES Fellows) program, with the goal of helping to enable discoveries needed to inform actions that lead to environmental, energy and societal sustainability while creating the necessary workforce to address these challenges. With SEES Fellows support, this project will enable a promising early career researcher to establish themselves in an independent research career related to sustainability.