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biocontrol

Biocontrol

Article

Biocontrol

Biological control or biocontrol is the use of one organism to control the numbers of another.

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Fall armyworm larvae and moth

Article

Improving Aotearoa New Zealand’s biosecurity detection

This article has been republished from The Conversation under Creative Commons licence CC BY-ND 4.0 and is written by Dr Angela (Ang) McGaughran, Senior Lecturer in ...

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Tackling weeds to safeguard native ecosystems

Article

Tackling weeds to safeguard native ecosystems

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment report Space invaders: A review of how New Zealand manages weeds that threaten native ecosystems investigated the growing risk weeds ...

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Weeds – threats to native ecosystems

Article

Weeds – threats to native ecosystems

We all know about the threats that predators like possums, rats and stoats pose to New Zealand's native ecosystems, but did you know different exotic weeds ...

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Parasitoid wasp life cycle

Article

Parasitoid wasp life cycle

Introduced wasps cause all sort of problems for people and native species, but did you know we have native wasps in New Zealand? A female Certonotus ...

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Insect antennae

Article

Insect antennae

Imagine being able to smell your dinner from the other side of a sports field. Insects do this with the pair of antennae on their heads. ...

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Kiwi Forever – a conservation camp

Article

Kiwi Forever – a conservation camp

Kiwi Forever is a week-long leadership in conservation scholarship based at Tirorangi Marae, Ōhakune. In March 2018, 16 rangatahi (young people) from seven colleges participated. A ...

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Bioforce – breeding bugs for biocontrol

Article

Bioforce – breeding bugs for biocontrol

New Zealand might be an island nation, but that doesn’t stop us from having to deal with a variety of unwanted organisms that find their way ...

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Poison comes in small packages

Article

Poison comes in small packages

A team of scientists from New Zealand and Australia has discovered the way in which a bacterium packages its toxins in a hollow protein shell and ...

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Biocontrol of the New Zealand pea crab

Article

Biocontrol of the New Zealand pea crab

Oliver Trottier and Jessica Feickert (Leigh Marine Laboratory) have been working to understand the biology of the New Zealand pea crab, which is a parasite of ...

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Weevils eat pesky buddleia weeds

Article

Weevils eat pesky buddleia weeds

Introduced Chinese weevils, Cleopus japonicus, are laying waste to large patches of buddleia in the Bay of Plenty, much to the relief of forest growers and ...

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Possum vaccines and reproductive proteins

Article

Possum vaccines and reproductive proteins

Here, we explain the function of reproductive proteins GnRH and ZP. These proteins are targets for contraceptive vaccines, investigated in New Zealand to help reduce possum ...

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Making contraceptive vaccines for possums

Article

Making contraceptive vaccines for possums

Here, we explain how contraceptive vaccines for possums are made and how they work. Injecting the foreign DNA (the 'transgene') into the ovary of the female ...

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Delivering biocontrol agents to possums

Article

Delivering biocontrol agents to possums

Here, we describe transmissible and non-transmissible methods for delivering biocontrol agents to possums. Scientists in New Zealand investigated a range of biocontrol agents to reduce possum ...

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Hormone-toxins to reduce possum fertility

Article

Hormone-toxins to reduce possum fertility

Scientists in New Zealand investigated whether a roundworm parasite could be used to deliver a hormone toxin to possums. This article looks at the research by ...

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Key terms and definitions in possum biocontrol

Article

Key terms and definitions in possum biocontrol

A list of terms used in our content on the biological control. Antibodies Antigen Bacterial ghosts Biological control or biocontrol Contraceptive vaccine Corpus luteum FSH or ...

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Fighting a little bee mite

Article

Fighting a little bee mite

A little mite, like a tiny spider the size of a pin head, has been plaguing New Zealand’s bee industry. The mites, called varroa, are parasites ...

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Using a worm to reduce possum numbers

Article

Using a worm to reduce possum numbers

A parasitic worm that naturally infects possums could be the key to controlling possum numbers in New Zealand. Join Supervader and participants from Wellington’s 2006 Kids’ ...

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Irish wasp gets permit to tackle weevil

Article

Irish wasp gets permit to tackle weevil

A tiny Irish wasp can now be used as a biological control agent against clover root weevil, following permission from the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA). ...

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Amazing ryegrass

Article

Amazing ryegrass

Ryegrass is an important food for cattle, but it is also a favourite food of competing insects. Can biological control offer a solution? What's so special ...

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Irish wasp to the rescue

Article

Irish wasp to the rescue

In January 2006, a tiny wasp was released onto a Waikato farm to kill an enemy that was devastating pastures. Ten years on, these tiny wasps ...

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Vaccines to reduce possum fertility

Article

Vaccines to reduce possum fertility

The advantages and disadvantages of using a vaccine to reduce possum fertility are explained here. Researchers in New Zealand, at AgResearch, Landcare Research, Victoria University and ...

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Possum biocontrol: Regulations controlling the research

Article

Possum biocontrol: Regulations controlling the research

Genetic modification of organisms is a very controversial issue in New Zealand. Regulatory controls have been developed to try to manage the risk of research using ...

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Where is the biotechnology in the possum biocontrol story?

Article

Where is the biotechnology in the possum biocontrol story?

Biological control, or biocontrol, is the use of a living organism, or the product of a living organism, to control the numbers of another organism, usually ...

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