Finalrisk analysis report for the release of Tachardiaephagus somervillei for the biological control of yellow lac scale (Tachardina aurantiaca)
September 2015
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Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources2015,Final risk analysis for the release of Tachardiaephagus somervillei for the biological control of yellow lac scale (Tachardina aurantiaca), Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Canberra.
This publication is available at agriculture.gov.au.
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Tachardiaephagus somervilleifinal risk analysisContents
Contents
Acronyms and abbreviations......
Summary......
1Introduction......
1.1Australia’s biosecurity policy framework......
1.2This risk analysis......
2Method for risk analysis......
2.1Australia’s appropriate level of protection (ALOP)......
3Assessment of off-target risks......
3.1Stage 1: Initiation......
3.2Stage 2: Risk assessment......
4Recommendation on release
5Stakeholder responses to draft risk analysis report
6Attachments......
Appendix A: Method for pest risk analysis......
Stage 1: Initiation......
Stage 2: Pest risk assessment......
Stage 3: Pest risk management......
Appendix B: Biosecurity framework......
Glossary......
References......
Tables
Table 1 Nomenclature of qualitative likelihoods
Table 2 Matrix of rules for combining qualitative likelihoods
Table 3 Decision rules for determining the consequence impact score based on the magnitude of consequences at four geographic scales
Table 4 Decision rules for determining the overall consequence rating for each pest
Table 5 Risk estimation matrix
Maps
Map 1 Map of Australia......
Map 2 A guide to Australia’s bio-climatic zones......
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources1
Tachardiaephagus somervilleifinal risk analysisMaps of Australia
Map 1 Map of Australia
Map 2 A guide to Australia’s bio-climatic zones
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources1
Tachardiaephagus somervilleifinal risk analysisAcronyms and abbreviations
Acronyms and abbreviations
Term or abbreviation / DefinitionACT / Australian Capital Territory
ALOP / Appropriate level of protection
BA / Biosecurity Advice
BCA / Biological Control Agent
CSIRO / Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
EP / Existing policy
FAO / Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
ICON / The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources Import Conditions database
IPC / International Phytosanitary Certificate
IPPC / International Plant Protection Convention
IRA / Import risk analysis
ISPM / International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures
NSW / New South Wales
NPPO / National Plant Protection Organisation
NT / Northern Territory
PRA / Pest risk assessment
Qld / Queensland
SA / South Australia
SPS / Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Tas. / Tasmania
Vic. / Victoria
WA / Western Australia
WTO / World Trade Organization
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources1
Tachardiaephagus somervilleifinal risk analysisSummary
Summary
The Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has prepared this finalrisk analysis report to assess the proposal by the Director of National Parksto releaseTachardiaephagus somervillei for the biological control of yellow lac scale (Tachardina aurantiaca) on Christmas Island.
This final report recommendsthat the release of Tachardiaephagus somervilleion Christmas Island should be permitted. The final report has identified moderate off-target effects with negligible potential consequences that would be associated with the release of Tachardiaephagus somervillei. The risk is estimated to be negligible, which meets Australia’s appropriate level of protection (ALOP).
The report takes into account two stakeholder comments on the July 2015 draft risk analysis report.
A preliminary draft of this report was distributed to state and territory departments of primary industry and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) through the Plant Health Committee (PHC). Comments received via this consultation process were incorporated into the draft risk analysis report.
The Department of the Environment also has an approval process for the import and release of biological control agents under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) 1999.There has been consultation with The Department of the Environment prior to the release of this final risk analysis report and the Department agrees with the recommendations of the report.
This final report contains details of the risk assessment for potential off-target effects associated with the proposed release of Tachardiaephagus somervillei. The applicationfrom the Director of National Parks and eight additional supporting documentsare included as Attachment 1.
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources1
Tachardiaephagus somervilleifinal risk analysisMethod & assessment
1Introduction
1.1Australia’s biosecurity policy framework
Australia's biosecurity policies aim to protect Australia against the risks that may arise from exotic pests entering, establishing and spreading in Australia, thereby threatening Australia's unique flora and fauna, as well as those agricultural industries that are relatively free from serious pests.
The risk analysis process is an important part of Australia's biosecurity policies. It enables the Australian Government to formally consider the risks that could be associated with proposals to release a new organism into Australia. If the risks are found to exceed Australia’s appropriate level of protection (ALOP) then release will not be allowed.
Successive Australian Governments have maintained a conservative, but not a zero risk, approach to the management of biosecurity risks. This approach is expressed in terms of Australia's ALOP, which reflects community expectations through government policy and is currently described as providing a high level of protection aimed at reducing risk to a very low level, but not to zero.
Australia’s risk analyses are undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources using technical and scientific experts in relevant fields, and involve consultation with stakeholders at various stages during the process.
The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources assessment may take the form of an import risk analysis (IRA), a non-regulated analysis of existing policy, or technical advice.
Further information about Australia’s biosecurity framework is provided in Appendix B of this report and in the Import Risk Analysis Handbook 2011 located on the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources website.
1.2This risk analysis
1.2.1Background
An application has been submitted by the Director of National Parks to release a biological control agent (Attachment 1). The biological control agent, Tachardiaephagus somervillei is a microhymenopteran parasitoid proposed for the biological control of yellow lac scale (Tachardina aurantiaca) on Christmas Island. The applicant has followed the steps outlined in the Biosecurity Guidelines for the Introduction of Exotic Biological Control Agents for the Control of Weeds and Plant Pests.
1.2.2Scope
The scope of this risk analysis is to consider the biosecurity risk that may be associated with the release of an exotic biological control agent into the Australian environment, specifically Christmas Island, a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. Christmas Island is located 2600kilometres north-west of Perth, Western Australia and is therefore biologically isolated from the mainland of Australia. In addition, there is a full quarantine barrier between Christmas Island and the mainland of Australia. The primary risk with a release of this nature is the possibility of unwanted off-target effects on other species already present on Christmas Island. The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources assesses the risk under the Quarantine Act 1908. The Department of the Environment also has an approval process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) 1999. This risk analysis report may be used by the responsible Minister in making a determination to include the item on the List of Specimens taken to be suitable for live import (live import list).
Host specificity testing has only been carried out for species present on Christmas Island. Any approvals granted to release Tachardiaephagus somervillei will only be for Christmas Island. No approvals will be granted for release in other areas of Australia without further testing and an additional risk analysis.
The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources will not commence an assessment to release a biological control agent unless the target has been approved by an appropriate government body. Tachardina aurantiacawas approved as a target for biological control by Plant Health Committee on 9 April 2013.
1.2.3Contaminating pests
There are other organisms that may arrive with imported exotic biological control agents. These organisms may include parasitoids, mites or fungi. The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources considers these organisms to be contaminating pests that could pose sanitary and phytosanitary risks. Should this application to release be approved, these risks will be addressed by existing operational procedures that apply to the importation and final release of biological control agents. For this reason, contaminating pests are not considered in this risk analysis. Operational procedures usually include detailed examination of imported material, confirmation of identity and breeding through one generation while in quarantine in Australia before release. However, in this case these procedures will be carried out under the supervision of an officer from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in a facility at the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM).A protocol has been prepared to ensure the safe import and release of Tachardiaephagus somervillei on Christmas Island.
1.2.4Consultation
In March 2015, a preliminary draft of this report was distributed to state and territory departments of primary industry and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) through the Plant Health Committee (PHC) as well as the Department of the Environment. Comments received via this consultation process were incorporated into the draft risk analysis report. All comments endorsed the preliminary draft and its recommendation.
On 1 July 2015, Biosecurity Advice 2015/07 informed stakeholders of the release of a draft risk analysis report for the release of Tachardiaephagus somervillei for the biological control of yellow lac scale (Tachardina aurantiaca).The draft report was also released at this time for a 30-day stakeholder consultation period that closed on 31 July 2015. Written submissions received from two stakeholders were considered. Both submissions raised no objections to the draft recommendation.
The Department of the Environment also has an approval process for the import and release of biological control agents under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999. There has been consultation with the Department of the Environment prior to the release of this report and it has endorsed the findings of this report.
2Method for risk analysis
Biological control agents (BCAs) intended for release are deliberately introduced, distributed, aided to establish and spread. Therefore it would be inappropriate to assess the probability of entry, establishment and spread using the processes described in ISPM 11(FAO 2013). This BCA risk analysis will focus only on off-target effects, as this is the only concern with regard to the release of biological control agents.
2.1Australia’s appropriate level of protection (ALOP)
The SPS Agreement defines the concept of an ‘appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection (ALOP)’ as the level of protection deemed appropriate by the WTO Member establishing a sanitary or phytosanitary measure to protect human, animal or plant life or health within its territory.
Like many other countries, Australia expresses its ALOP in qualitative terms. Australia’s ALOP, which reflects community expectations through government policy, is currently expressed as providing a high level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection aimed at reducing risk to a very low level, but not to zero. The band of cells in Table 5 marked ‘very low risk’ represents Australia’s ALOP.
3Assessment of off-target risks
This section sets out the assessment of off-target risks that could be associated with the release of the biological control agent. Where appropriate, the methods followed those used for pest risk analysis (PRA) by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in accordance with the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), including ISPM 2: Framework for pest risk analysis(FAO 2007),ISPM 3: Guidelines for the export, shipment, import and release of biological control agents and other beneficial organisms (FAO 2011) and ISPM 11: Pest risk analysis for quarantine pests(FAO 2013) that have been developed under the SPS Agreement (WTO 1995). The methodology for a commodity-based PRA is providedin Appendix A.
The risk associated with release of a biological control agent is a combination of the probability of off-target effects and the potential magnitude of the consequences of any off-target effects.
3.1Stage 1: Initiation
Initiation commences when an applicant provides a submission proposing the release of a biological control agent.
The risk analysis area for this assessment is defined as the external Australian territory of Christmas Island and once released it is assumed that there will be no control of spread of the agent on the island, other than environmental constraints related to the biology of the organism.Furthermore, there are quarantine measures in place restricting movement of plants and plant material between Christmas Island and mainland Australia.
3.2Stage 2: Risk assessment
This assessment evaluates the probability of off-target effects and the potential economic and environmental consequences of these effects.
3.2.1Assessment of the probability of off-target effects
Given that the proposal is for deliberate release, the probability of entry, establishment and spread is assumed to be certain and therefore the assessment relates to the host specificity of the proposed agent.
A qualitative likelihood is assigned to the estimate of probability of off-target effects. Six descriptors are used: high; moderate; low; very low; extremely low; and negligible. Descriptive definitions for these descriptors and their indicative probability ranges are given in Appendix A, Table 1.
Attachment 1 gives details provided by the applicant of the host specificity testing that was carried out.
Background to this application
Biological control of yellow lac scale (Tachardina aurantiaca) on Christmas Island was proposed following the results of three research projects carried out over the period 2009-2013 (Green et al. 2013 – supporting document 2).The primary aim of controlling the yellow lac scale is to achieve indirect biological control of yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes). Yellow crazy ants form supercolonies on Christmas Island, threatening native biota. Yellow lac scale in high densities within the yellow crazy ant supercolonies provide a large portion of the honeydew that the ants utilise.
Host specificity testing methodology
The host specificity test list was compiled using the centrifugal approach, a widely accepted methodbased on phylogenetic similarity, (Kuhlmann et al 2006; Wapshere 1974). Eight species were tested, including representatives from the following families; four Coccidae, three Pseudococcidae and one Diaspididae. The host test list did not include Paratachardina pseudolobata (lobate lac scale), the only other species in the Kerriidae family (to which yellow lac scale belongs) present on Christmas Island.Paratachardina pseudolobata is an introduced pest.
All host specificity testing was conducted in the field in Kuching (Sarawak, Malaysia). Testing took the form of no-choice tests with negative and positive controls. The no-choice tests were conducted with 25 individuals per trials, exposed to 5 female and 5 male parasitoids . Each trial was carried out in an enclosed mesh bag on a branch in the field testing area. Ten replicates were carried out for all test species except one (which had 5 replicates). Negative controls, consisted of 25 test insect species enclosed in mesh bags without the parasitoid. Positive controls consisted of 25 unparasitised adult yellow lac scales, with 5 female and 5 male parasitoids added to the enclosed mesh bag.
Results of host specificity testing
None of the eight test species were parasitised by T. somervillei during the no-choice testing. Positive controls showed that all replicates of yellow lac scale were consistently parasitised at a high level.
The results suggest that T. somervillei is host specific. This result is consistent with the information from records in literature presented in the application on host specificity for T. somervillei and the entire genus Tachardiaephagus. All hosts for this genus have been recorded from the lac scale family, Kerriidae. As Paratachardina pseudolobatais in the Kerriidae family and was not tested, there is a possibility that there may be off-target effects on this species. This species is not native to Christmas Island and is considered a pest species on the island.