The Laboratory of Biosystematic Bases of Beneficial Organism Introductions

The Laboratory of Biosystematic Bases of Beneficial Organism Introductions was established in 1990 by a resolution of the Scientific Council of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The major objective of the laboratory is the development of theoretical bases of biological weed control and methods of introduction of phytophages and phytopathogens. The laboratory is also conducting studies of evolution of ecosystems and coevolution of plants and phytophagous phytopathogens.

Scientific research is conducted on four major themes:

1. Theory of biological weed control – modeling of coevolution of arthropod phytophages and higher plants.
2. Succession processes and factors determining them. The study of this issue is based upon long-term research covering different Holarctic weeds: a concept is developed for restoring ancestral distribution ranges of plants on the basis of study of consortia of insects and oligophagous mites.
3. Biological control of weeds using insects and phytopathogenic fungi. Search for and selection of promising agents of biological weed control proceeds in two directions: phytophagous insects (monophages or narrow oligophages) capable of rapid dispersal and search for weed host plants and phytopathogenic fungi resistant to unfavourable conditions during long periods.
4. Creation of information database on biological control of weeds with regard to their major biological and ecological characteristics.