Border biosecurity science - It's still about the people
Studying the impact of foreign pests on indigenous New
Zealand flora in overseas botanical collections, such as
this display of toi toi (Arundo fulvida) in London's Kew
Gardens, provides valuable information on biosecurity risks to
New Zealand's native ecosystems.
The science surrounding border biosecurity – the strategies we use to stop pests on our doorstep – is progressing in leaps and bounds. And in a country like New Zealand, with a lot of border, it is taking some smart thinking to ensure our finite biosecurity resources are up to the task.
Speaking at last November’s Biosecurity Summit in Wellington, Dr Craig Phillips briefed attendees on some of the latest innovations in the battle to keep new pests and diseases from crossing our threshold.
Dr Phillips is an AgResearch senior scientist and science leader for the FRST-funded Better Border Biosecurity (B3) programme, a collaborative effort to improve the application of science to biosecurity defences against new pests of plants.
He said border biosecurity has its roots in pest management science, but B3 now means that researchers can focus specifically on border control issues to deliver effective biosecurity solutions. “We’ve been looking at how the whole system can deliver new border control capabilities, starting with tertiary education,” he said. “There is also a growing recognition that biosecurity is very much about people. Biosecurity problems are caused by people, and people will also provide solutions.”
To this end, social sciences form an important strand of biosecurity science. Collaboration is another important strategy. “Resources are finite and we must make the best use of what is available, both domestically and internationally,” he said.
International collaboration is already well developed (see also Biosecurity 72:7). Dr Phillips is excited about the coordination of B3’s research activities with Australia and the United States, with other countries likely to join in soon.
He said New Zealand’s expertise in biosecurity science is well advanced, and our success in eradicating tussock moth, Asian gypsy moth and painted apple moth has been recognised internationally. Nonetheless, our traditional strengths lie in protection against pests affecting primary production.
“We don’t know as much about the biosecurity risks to our natural ecosystems. One project that will help address that is a study of New Zealand native plants that have been established overseas, especially in botanical collections. Seeing what attacks them there gives us an insight into what might threaten them here. There’s also an opportunity for us to reciprocate and show overseas authorities what happens to exotic plants that have been acclimatised here.”
Prioritising risks is a complex task, Dr Phillips said. It is made even more so by world climate change because it alters the resettlement options for hitchhiking pests.
He said growing trade volumes have turned up the pressure on border biosecurity scientists to find ways to kill pests carried in with fresh imports – but without harming the produce or using dangerous chemicals. Use of ‘flash’ heat treatments or changing atmospheric pressure are just two promising strategies for stressing or killing bugs without leaving residues or harming the goods.
Much of the B3 science is aimed at providing better management options for risk pathways, Dr Phillips explained. Soil on footwear is one example of a pathway which can keep exotic microbes alive and well for their OE to New Zealand, even if they have been stored for months prior to travel, and B3 is coming up with better ways of dealing with this risk.
The B3 scientists are also looking at smarter ways of carrying out the extensive surveillance that’s needed in high-risk areas (e.g., near ports) to provide an early warning of a new incursion. ‘Smart traps’ which can automatically inform a database if a pest of interest has made it past our border could be one way of making limited labour resources go further.
The scientists are also exploring ways of distinguishing between exotic intruders and unrecorded native species when something new is found. Another recent B3 invention is a simple, rapid test to say whether small, immobile organisms, say, egg masses on imported cars, are alive or dead.
Dr Phillips said that while the potential of innovations like these to improve our border defences is enormous, they won’t radically change our overall border biosecurity system. “Our current system is well evolved and highly regarded throughout the world. I think we will be seeing a series of refinements that will continually strengthen our border biosecurity in response to the challenges created by human activity.”
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Page last updated: 30 April 2008