Background: Biological invasions are one of the main threats to global biodiversity. Many invasive species become serious pests, and biological control through release of natural enemies that attack the pest in its native range can be an effective strategy to reduce the damage they cause. However, release of non-native biological control agents comes with the risk that these will attack native non-target species, which not only affects these directly, but can also have indirect negative effects on native natural enemies. This studentship examines this issue for a non-native parasitoid wasp, Torymus sinensis, which has recently been released in the UK to control Oriental Chestnut Gallwasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus), an invasive pest of sweet chestnut. Jointly supervised by the University of Edinburgh, FERA Science and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, this project brings together cutting edge methods in modelling and monitoring the ecological impacts of invasive species.
Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp (OCGW) is a global pest that was introduced to Italy in ca. 1995, and has since spread across Europe from Portugal to Turkey. It is specific to sweet chestnut (Castanea) species, and can cause serious damage, reducing the chestnut crop and killing heavily infested trees. Torymus sinensis was first released as a biocontrol agent for this pest in Japan, where it proved very effective, and after initial release in Italy (Quaccia et al. 2007) it has been widely released across mainland Europe . At the time of its release very little was known about risks to native species, or about how fast Torymus sinensis would spread. In Europe it has become clear that T. sinensis can spread quickly without direct human assistance, but also that it can attack native non-target species (Ferracini et al. 2017) and have negative effects on native parasitoid populations (Ferracini et al. 2018). It is also clear that the released T. sinensis contained two ecologically different lineages that are active at different times of year and potentially attack different native hosts. OCGW has become locally abundant in southern England over the last 5 years, and Torymus sinensis was released in April 2021.
The aims of this studentship are
1. To monitor and model the spread of T. sinensis and OCGW in the UK, and
2. To quantify the impact of T. sinensis on OCGW, non-target native insect herbivores, and native parasitoids.
This studentship will develop skills in community ecology, including insect molecular taxonomy and DNA barcoding, food web analysis, and modelling of distribution and temporal spread. The studentship will be based at the University of Edinburgh (Prof. Graham Stone) and will involve extensive fieldwork across the UK, with opportunities to spend time at UKCEH Wallingford (Dr. Louise Barwell, Dr. Karsten Schönrogge) and at Fera Science York (Dr. Chris Malumphy).
We are looking for a candidate with strong quantitative skills and enthusiasm for a mixture of field, lab and analytical work, Interest in entomology -particularly parasitoids- and in making the results of science accessible to those who develop science policy would be an advantage. The candidate must be an experienced driver with a full, clean driving license.
The references below provide background to the application of T. sinensis to control of OCGW in Europe and to the type of distribution modelling that could be used.
This opportunity is open to UK and EU students with pre/settled status and provides funding to cover stipend at UKRI standard rate and UK level tuition fees.
The School of Biological Sciences is committed to Equality & Diversity: https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/equality-and-diversity
How to Apply
The “Institution Website” button on this page will take you to our Online Application checklist. From here you can formally apply online.
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