Integrated pest management: an under-utilized tool for conservation and the management of invasive ants and their mutualistic Hemiptera in the Pacific

Abstract

Intergrated pest management (IPM) is a well-developed technology applied primarily in agroecosystems. In many situations, IPM, with associated biological control agents, can stop the need for pesticide applications and results in pest densities being sustained below economic or ecological thresholds. My thesis is that IPM is a highly functional tool that is largely being ignored in conservation, and specifically that it is critical for the sustained control of invasive ants in many Pacific island and atoll systems.