Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T06:54:30.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Biological Control of Yellow Starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) in the Salmon River Canyon of Idaho

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jennifer L. Birdsall  and
George P. Markin
Jennifer L. Birdsall*
Affiliation:
Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, 1648 S. 7th Avenue, Montana State University Campus, Bozeman, MT 59717-2780
George P. Markin
Affiliation:
Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, 1648 S. 7th Avenue, Montana State University Campus, Bozeman, MT 59717-2780
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Yellow starthistle is an invasive, annual, spiny forb that, for the past 30 yr has been steadily advancing up the Salmon River Canyon in west central Idaho. In 1994, a decision was made to attempt to manage yellow starthistle by establishing a complex of biological control agents in a containment zone where the weed was most dense. Between 1995 and 1997, six species of seedhead-attacking insects were introduced and successfully established. By 1999, the insects had spread through the entire containment zone. Following this dispersal, a rapid buildup of insect populations occurred, and, since 2003, seed destruction has fluctuated around 90%. Vegetation monitoring plots, however, have shown no consistent decline in the overall population of yellow starthistle, indicating that the amount of seed produced is still sufficient to allow full replacement. However, county weed control personnel, who are responsible for surveying and destroying outlying populations of yellow starthistle beyond the containment zone, report that, during this period, the number of new, isolated pockets of yellow starthistle they are finding has dropped dramatically. This case study discusses how the biological control program partially met the objective of managing yellow starthistle by reducing the rate of advance of this weed in the Salmon River Canyon.

Keywords

Yellow starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis L. CESO3Seedhead-attacking insectsseed predationweed containment zones
Type
Case Studies
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , December 2010 , pp. 462 - 469
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Balciunas, J. and Villegas, B. 1999. Two new seed head flies attack yellow starthistle. Calif. Agric 53:8–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balciunas, J. K. and Villegas, B. 2001. Unintentionally released Chaetorellia succinea (Diptera: Tephritidae): is this natural enemy of yellow starthistle a threat to safflower growers? Environ. Entomol 30:953–963.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balciunas, J. K. and Villegas, B. 2007. Laboratory and realized host ranges of Chaetorellia succinea (Diptera: Tephritidae), an unintentionally introduced natural enemy of yellow starthistle. Environ. Entomol 36:849–857.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collier, T. R., Enloe, S. F., Sciegienka, J. K., and Menalled, F. D. 2007. Combined impacts of Ceutorhynchus litura and herbicide treatments for Canada thistle suppression. Biol. Control 43:231–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DiTomaso, J. M. and Gerlach, J. D. 2000. Centaurea solstitialis . Pages 101–106. In Bossard, C. C., Randall, J. M., and Hoshovsky, M. C. eds. Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands. Berkeley University of California Press.Google Scholar
Garren, J. M. and Strauss, S. Y. 2009. Population-level compensation by an invasive thistle thwarts biological control from seed predators. Ecol. Appl 19:709–721.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hierro, J. L., Eren, Ö, Khetsuriani, L., et al. 2009. Germination responses of an invasive species in native and non-native ranges. Oikos 118:529–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffman, J. H. and Moran, V. C. 2008. Assigning success in biological weed control: what do we really mean?. Pages 687–692. In Julien, M. H., Sforza, R., Bon, M. C., Evans, H. C., Hatcher, P. E., Hinz, H. L., and Rector, B. G. eds. Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. Wallingford, UK CAB.Google Scholar
Huwer, R. K., Briese, D. T., Dowling, P. M., Kemp, D. R., Lonsdale, W. M., Michalk, D. L., Neave, M. J., Sheppard, A. W., and Woodburn, T. L. 2005. Can an integrated management approach provide a basis for long-term prevention of weed dominance in Australian pasture systems? Weed Res 45:175–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Idaho State Department of Agriculture 2009. Salmon River Weed Management Area End of Year Report FY 2009. http://www.agri.state.id.us/Categories/PlantsInsects/NoxiousWeeds/Documents/costshare/EOY_2009/Salmon_River_CWMA_2009_EOY.pdf. Accessed: May 15, 2010.Google Scholar
Jongejans, E., Sheppard, A. W., and Shea, K. 2006. What controls the population dynamics of the invasive thistle Carduus nutans in its native range? J. Appl. Ecol 43:877–886.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lym, R. G. 2005. Integration of biological control agents with other weed management technologies: successes from the leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) IPM program. Biol. Control 35:366–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maddox, D. M., Mayfield, A., and Poritz, N. H. 1985. Distribution of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) and Russian knapweed (Centaurea repens). Weed Sci 33:315–327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, J. H., Jackson, C., Quinn, H., White, S. R., and Cory, J. S. 2009. Successful biological control of diffuse knapweed, Centaurea diffusa, in British Columbia, Canada. Biol. Control 50:66–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[NRCS] National Resources Conservation Service 2010. The USDA PLANTS Database, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA. http://plants.usda.gov. Accessed: May 17, 2010.Google Scholar
Pitcairn, M. J., Piper, G. L., and Coombs, E. M. 2004. Yellow starthistle. Pages 421–435. In Coombs, E. M., Clark, J. K., Piper, G. L., and Cofrancesco, A. F. Jr. eds. Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the United States. Corvallis Oregon State University Press.Google Scholar
Pitcairn, M. J., Schoenig, S., Yacoub, R., and Gendron, J. 2006. Yellow starthistle continues its spread in California. Calif. Agric 60:83–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitcairn, M. J., Woods, D. M., Joley, D. B., Turner, C. E., and Balciunas, J. K. 2000. Population buildup and combined impact of introduced insects on yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis L.) in California. Pages 747–751. In Spencer, N. R. ed. Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. Bozeman Montana State University.Google Scholar
Shea, K., Jongejans, E., Skarpaas, O., Kelly, D., and Sheppard, A. W. 2010. Optimal management strategies to control local population growth or population spread may not be the same. Ecol. Appl 20:1148–1161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheley, R. L. and Larson, L. L. 1994. Observation: comparative live-history of cheat-grass and yellow starthistle. J. Range Manage 47:450–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Story, J. M., Smith, L., Corn, J. G., and White, L. J. 2008. Influence of seed head-attacking biological control agents on spotted knapweed reproductive potential in Western Montana over a 30-year period. Environ. Entomol 37:510–519.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, C. E. and Fornasari, L. 1992. Biological control of yellow starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis . Pages 405–410. In Delfosse, E. S. and Scott, R. R. eds. Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. Melbourne, Australia CSIRO.Google Scholar
Turner, C. E., Johnson, J. B., and McCaffrey, J. P. 1995. Yellow starthistle. Pages 270–275. In Nechols, J. R., Andres, L. A., Beardsley, J. W., Goeden, R. D., and Jackson, C. G. eds. Biological Control in the Western United States: Accomplishments and Benefits of Regional Research Project W-84, 1964–1989. Oakland Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California Publication 3361.Google Scholar
van Klinken, R. D., Colasanti, R., and Buckley, Y. M. 2008. How sensitive is weed invasion to seed predation?. Pages 52–55. In Julien, M. H., Sforza, R., Bon, M. C., Evans, H. C., Hatcher, P. E., Hinz, H. L., and Rector, B. G. eds. Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. Wallingford, UK CAB.Google Scholar
Wilson, L. M., Jette, C., Connett, J., and McCaffrey, J. 2003. Biology and Biological Control of Yellow Starthistle. 2nd ed. Fort Collins, CO Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Publication FHTAT-1998-17.Google Scholar
Winston, R. L. and Schwarzländer, M. 2008. Are seed-feeding insects adequately controlling yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) in the Western USA?. Page 644. In Julien, M. H., Sforza, R., Bon, M. C., Evans, H. C., Hatcher, P. E., Hinz, H. L., and Rector, B. G. eds. Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. Wallingford, UK CAB.Google Scholar
Woods, D. M., Pitcairn, M. J., Joley, D. B., and Turner, C. E. 2008. Seasonal phenology and impact of Urophora sirunaseva on yellow starthistle seed production in California. Biol. Control 47:172–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar