Biodiversity (Entomology) and Integrated Pest Management

Dr. Peter Mason
Section Head

Develops diagnostic and identification tools to facilitate border protection against exotic pests and provides information to utilize beneficial insect species to naturally suppress agricultural pest populations below economic thresholds.

The Biodiversity (Entomology) and Integrated Pest Management section consists of six study areas:

Animal Protection: Develops information technologies necessary for clients to access and utilize accurate, up-to-date information on the identity, distribution and habits of the insects, mites and ticks that affect livestock or human health in Canada, either as pests or as beneficial parasites, predators or competitors. This will enable pest populations to be controlled and disease and other economic losses minimized through improved, sustainable biological control.

Biodiversity: Focuses on organizing biosystematic and distributional data on arthropods (insects and arachnids), fungi and plants into interoperable electronic databases that can be searched and linked to other data sources on demand. These groups of organisms make up the vast majority of species in Canadian landscapes that provide many of the key ecological services that support the productivity of our ecosystems. Conducts assessments of the changing composition and structure of ecological communities in Canadian ecozones in order to understand the impact that human activities such as land and water use, cropping systems and pest management practices have on our biodiversity.

Integrated Pest Management: Develops novel pest management strategies that exploit natural enemies and integrate natural enemy biodiversity with crop varieties, cultural practices and judicious use of pesticides in corn, wheat, soybean and canola.

Pest Insects: Develops diagnostic tools, improved identification aids, predictive classifications and taxonomic information systems for established, newly detected and exotic pest insects of fruit, vegetables and field crops in Canada. Identification aids and ancillary information are developed to permit end-user clients and regulatory personnel to identify and verify pest insects.

Taxonomic Information Systems: Focuses on the acquisition, development and application of new information technologies to organize systematic and collection data on arthropods, fungi and plants to facilitate access to this authoritative information by collaborators and clients.

Resources

Specialized library

The section's entomology collection and associated specialized library are indispensable reference material for the authoritative identification of foreign and domestic insects, arachnids and mites.

Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnics and Nematodes (CNC)

The Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes (CNC) is an important world collection housing over 15 million specimens. The majority of specimens were collected throughout Canada and North America, but there are significant holdings from other biogeographic regions. The collection is maintained and developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as part of numerous research studies involving systematics, biodiversity and sustainability of Canada's agricultural resources;

National Arthropod Quarantine Facility

The National Arthropod Quarantine Facility provides a single point of entry for exotic biocontrol agents which ensures proper identification and screening of materials entering the country. Immediate taxonomic support is available from CNC systematists .

General Services of the Biodiversity Research Sections

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