New database to link invertebrates with host plants
A free, easy-to-use insect and host plant database will assist amateur and professional people with research into native plants and native ecosystems.
Called Plant-SyNZ (pronounced plant signs), the database pulls together information that has traditionally been scattered in scientific literature, biological collections and scientific libraries – making it accessible to all New Zealanders via the web.
The project has been made possible by Crop and Food Research and Landcare Research, with the support of the Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (TFBIS) programme administered by the Department of Conservation.
Research leader Dr Nicholas Martin, of Crop and Food Research, says the database was originally developed to keep track of information about leaf mining insects and gall forming insects, as well as mites, but has grown to the point that it is now a broad insect–plant database, linking New Zealand plants with their insect and mite herbivores.
The database can be searched by plant or by herbivore name and produces easily digestible reports.
Nicholas says the information will help those in many different fields, including biosecurity, education and ecology. He says the database, which already contains the names of 1,386 plant species, 2,482 insect and mite species and 6,209 herbivore–host plant associations, will continue to expand.
A possibly unique feature of Plant-SyNZ is the reliability index used to score each host association. The quality of information supporting a host association varies from excellent (insect reared on host plant) to poor (adults found sitting on host plant). Each association is given a score from 0 to 10, with 10 being excellent evidence and 0 a mistake in the literature.
Another feature of the database is its direct link to the plant databases hosted by Landcare Research; it will eventually also link to Landcare's invertebrate database. Eventually, users will be able to move from the plant databases through Plant-SyNZ to the invertebrate names database and vice versa.
The database is supported by web pages that explain the concepts and tools used.
There will be information coming to the database from the government-funded science programme, Better Border Biosecurity, about herbivores found on New Zealand plants overseas.
- www.crop.cri.nz/home/plant-synz
- Dr Nicholas Martin, phone 09 845 9010, martin@crop.cri.nz
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Page last updated: 30 April 2008