Application of aerobiology to IPM

Insects, plant pathogens and weeds that move through the air create some of the most interesting pest management problems because their populations can increase dramatically, often with little warning and independent of factors that operate within fields (Irwin, 1999; Jeger, 1999). The advent of IPM programs has created an increased need to predict when, where and which pest populations are likely to grow rapidly and require control. Where dispersal is critical to the dynamics of populations, the realization of this demand requires information on the movements of pests into and out of agricultural fields and the degree to which fields within landscapes and regions are interconnected by these flows (Isard & Gage, 2001). Fundamental to this need is a solid understanding of aerobiology, the study of the biological and atmospheric factors that interact to govern aerial movements of biota (aerobiota) among geographic places (Aylor & Irwin, 1999). Aerobiology, and dispersal research in general, is currently “on the move,” in large part due to rapid advances in technologies for measuring and analyzing flows of organisms at relevant temporal and spatial scales (Gage et al., 1999; Westbrook & Isard, 1999; Blackburn, 2006). The renewed attention to issues of movement spans a wide range of pest and beneficial taxa that use air, water and/or land to change position on Earth for a multiplicity of reasons.