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Discoveries in Natural History &
Exploration Purpose and Endorsement The University of California
engaged Dr. E. Fred Legner as Foreign Explorer in the Department of
Biological Control, to search worldwide for beneficial organisms to combat
invaded pests of medical and agricultural importance. In order to locate the place of origin of
a particular pest species and its natural enemies he was required to consider
many aspects of their history such as how did they arrive and how long had
they been in the invaded territory.
This naturally led to investigations of human migrations to the
Americas, which ultimately led to a consideration of Pre-Columbian visitors
from Europe and Asia. Numerous
inscriptions on petroglyphs that occur all over North America provided leads
to where the migrants came from, and provided clews to what pests they might
have carried with them (VITA: E. F. Legner). This site is an international,
intergovernmental, not-for-profit database coordinated by researchers at the University
of California and associated agencies worldwide. Its mission is to facilitate the dissemination, application and
generation of scientific knowledge in support of sustainable solutions to
problems in agriculture, forestry, human health and the management of natural
resources, and with particular attention to the needs of developing
countries. Contentious published
material is included for discussion and evaluation, and is not part of formal
curricula at the University of California. This is a self-contained database
with a minimum of links outside its limits.
Independent Internet searches are encouraged for greater detail on a
particular subject. “Discoveries in Natural History
& Exploration” includes a Biological
Pest Management database that incorporates lecture notes and a Biological
Pest Management text developed over many years as teaching materials for
courses at the University of California.
The database, which is for educational purposes only, is a 'one-stop
shop' for the student of Biological Pest Management, and especially Classical
Biological Pest Management that involves the deployment of a pest's natural
enemies. This database has a long and distinguished history. It began as a course taught by the founder
of the Department of Biological Control, Harry Scott Smith. Later Dr. Paul DeBach, Dr. Charles
Fleschner and Dr. Ernest Bay developed the course further, with Dr. E. F.
Legner teaching the final version for advanced students, which is what comprises
most of the Database on this Internet site now. Now retired from the University of California Professor Legner
is devoting time to developing an unparalleled Internet resource. Exhaustive coverage of the
theory and practice of Biological Control: sections covering this
subject on a group-by-group basis, and also on a regional basis back
everything from ecological theory to implementation and evaluation
methods. The extensive coverage
afforded by the database allows inclusion of topics often given scant space
elsewhere and for which summarized information can be hard to find. There is, for example, an in-depth review
in the section, Economic Gains from Biological Pest Management of not only its measurable monetary costs and benefits but also
less-easily quantifiable economic gains from increased food security and
reduced pesticide use. Professor
Legner has considerably enlarged the database, too, to include peripheral
aspects of Biological Pest Management, such as Entomology, Insect Morphology
and Taxonomy and Integrated Pest Management, Insect Pollination, Economic Botany, Mycology, Invertebrate
Zoology and Pre-Columbian
Explorations, etc. Other links developed naturally from the
numerous travels that he made to secure natural enemies of arthropods and
weeds from many lands. There is a disheartening endnote,
though. The University of California,
Riverside used to have a statewide Department of Biological Control of
international renown. In 1962 there
were over 40 full-time faculty and staff devoted to the deployment of natural
Biological Pest Management. Most
efforts involved the importation of natural enemies to combat alien pest
insects, weeds and mites. There
cannot be many readers of this journal who have not benefited either directly
or indirectly from the work and research of this group of researchers, yet
today only remnants remain. An enduring legacy of the people
who worked there, though, is this authoritative and comprehensive
database. There are no restrictions
on the use and dissemination of information, as long as it is for non-profit
educational purposes. Dr. Legner is
still developing the site, and is still in the process of obtaining
continuous feedback from colleagues; parts of it are changing daily. Text and
illustrations are available under the Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike License It is impossible to give more than
a flavour of what the site contains here, so readers are encouraged to take a
look for themselves. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - Sincerest gratitude to Rebecca Murphy bni@cabi.org CABI Bioscience UK Centre (Ascot), Silwood
Park, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7TA, UK Phone: +44 1491 829121 / +44 1344 872999 Fax: +44 1491 829123 |