Parasitoids in Galapagos? The risks and benefits of biological control.

Dr. George Heimpel

Professor, University of Minnesota

Abstract

The bird-parasitic fly Philornis downsi is native to South America and invasive in the Galapagos Islands, where it is threatening Darwin's Finches with extinction. Control of this fly has become a major goal of the Galapagos National Park Service, and the Charles Darwin Foundation.  Along with these partners, my research group has been evaluating specialized parasitoid wasps (parasitoids) as potential control agents of P. downsi over the last decade. In this presentation I provide an update on the specificity of one of the parasitoids being examined, and apply the information gained to a novel benefit-risk framework developed for biological control releases.