Transcript Opuntia - Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem

VIII Trilateral Committee Meeting
Invasive Species as a Trilateral Challenge
The possible expansion of the cactus moth,
Cactoblastis cactorum, in the USA and Mexico
Jorge Soberón, Laura Arriaga, Elizabeth Moreno,
and Jesús Alarcón
Albuquerque
April 29, 2003
Response Actions of the Ministry of Agriculture (SAGARPA)
General Direction of Plant Health
2003 Contigency Program to Avoid the Introduction of Cactoblastis
cactorum
Includes
20 Mexican states and the corridors between Tamaulipas
and the Peninsula of Yucatán. More productive states and wild
plantations.
Training
workshops (3) in collaboration with the State Governments
and State Committees for Plant Health to aware of the problem and
learn techniques to identify the species and plant damage.
State
Governments have assigned a budget to prevent the
introduction of the species.
Project with the Atomic
Energy Agency. Includes training workshops
with Drs. Zimmermann and Blum.
Policies and
Imports
regulations: “Dispositivo Nacional de Emergencia”
of cactus pear from the USA have been eliminated.
The analysis included 63 species of Opuntia, distributed in Mexico and / or the USA
 35 species with distribution only in Mexico
Opuntia amyclaea
Opuntia huajuapensis
Opuntia pycnacantha
Opuntia atrispina
Opuntia hyptiacantha
Opuntia rastrera
Opuntia atropes
Opuntia jaliscana
Opuntia rileyi
Opuntia azurea
Opuntia joconostle
Opuntia robusta
Opuntia bensonii
Opuntia lagunae
Opuntia spinulifera
Opuntia bravoana
Opuntia lasiacantha
Opuntia spraguei
Opuntia cantabrigiensis
Opuntia leucotricha
Opuntia streptacantha
Opuntia decumbens
Opuntia megacantha
Opuntia tapona
Opuntia depressa
Opuntia megarhiza
Opuntia tehuantepecana
Opuntia durangensis
Opuntia neochrysacantha
Opuntia tomentosa
Opuntia excelsa
Opuntia pilifera
Opuntia velutina
Opuntia fuliginosa
Opuntia pubescens
Opuntia wilcoxii
Opuntia guilanchi
 35 species with distribution only in Mexico
Opuntia durangensis
Opuntia hyptiacantha
Opuntia lasiacantha
Opuntia huajuapensis
 Sixteen species distribute only in the USA
Opuntia arbuscula
Opuntia arenaria
Opuntia erinacea
Opuntia fragilis
Opuntia humifusa
Opuntia pinkavae
Opuntia polyacantha
Opuntia erinacea
Opuntia pusilla
Opuntia stricta
Opuntia strigil
Opuntia triacantha
Opuntia x basilaris
Opuntia x columbiana
Opuntia x curvispina
Opuntia x fosbergii
Opuntia x vaseyi
Opuntia stricta
 Twelve species are shared between Mexico and the USA
Opuntia basilaris
Opuntia californica
Opuntia chlorotica
Opuntia dillenii
Opuntia engelmannii
Opuntia dillenii
Opuntia littoralis
Opuntia macrocentra
Opuntia macrorhiza
Opuntia microdasys
Opuntia oricola
Opuntia phaeacantha
Opuntia x occidentalis
Opuntia engelmannii
The 63 resulting maps were added to obtain the Opuntia hot spots.
Opuntia lagunae
Photos by Jon Rebman and George Lindsay
http://www.oceanoasis.org/fieldguide/opun-lag-sp.html
Ecological similarity areas for Cactoblastis cactorum
Sampling points in Argentina provided by SI
Mature larvae
http://www.geocities.com/granacochinilla/fotos02.html
Potential overlapping areas between the Opuntia and the moth, Cactoblastis
cactorum, in North America
Orange and yellow lines: Similar
ecological areas for the moth
Areas in blue: Species
accumulation of Opuntia
Conclusions
1.
The cactus moth is a threat not only for the Mexican species
of Opuntia, but also for the native species of USA.
2.
Preventive actions are needed to be established by the USA
government to avoid the dispersion of this invasive species to
Central and Western USA.
3.
We would like to enhance the Department of Interior, or the
USA governmental agencies in charge of addressing the
wildlife issues, to promote and coordinate some preventive
actions in collaboration with the Mexican agencies to avoid
the dispersion of the cactus moth.
Acknowledgements
Conabio would like to thank Drs. Salvador Arias, Héctor
Hernández, Raúl Puente, Jon Rebman, and Ana Weitzman,
for providing their data, expertise, and specimens information.
Dr. Townsend Peterson for providing digital covers for North
America.
Likewise, 15 herbaria from the USA (RSA, A, F, MICH, MO, DES, NY,
POM, LL, SD, CAS, ASU ,UNM ,US ,ARIZ), and 24 Mexican Herbaria
(CHAPA, CE-UNAM, HUAZ, CIIDIR, BCMEX, ENCB, FCME, HCIB, CICY,
QMEX, XAL, UAT, UAS, UAMIZ, UADY, INIF, SLPM, HUMO, MODERN, ZEA,
MEXU, INECOL-CRD, IEB, IBUG) provided Opuntia specimens
information compiled in the Mexican National Biodiversity
Information System (SNIB) and through REMIB.