General Enquiries on the form should be made to: Defra, Procurements and Commercial Function (Evidence Procurement Team) E-mail: [email protected] Evidence Project Final Report Note In line with the Freedom of Information Project identification Act 2000, Defra aims to place the results of its completed research projects in the public domain wherever possible. 1. Defra Project code FFG1207 The Evidence Project Final Report is designed to capture the information on 2. Project title the results and outputs of Defra-funded Adding tree health value to UK monitoring networks research in a format that is easily publishable through the Defra website An Evidence Project Final Report must be completed for all projects. 3. Contractor Plymouth University This form is in Word format and the organisation(s) boxes may be expanded, as appropriate. ACCESS TO INFORMATION The information collected on this form will be stored electronically and may be sent 54. Total Defra project costs £29878 to any part of Defra, or to individual researchers or organisations outside (agreed fixed price) Defra for the purposes of reviewing the project. Defra may also disclose the 5. Project: start date ................ 1 December 2012 information to any outside organisation acting as an agent authorised by Defra to 31 March 2013 process final research reports on its end date ................. behalf. Defra intends to publish this form on its website, unless there are strong reasons not to, which fully comply with exemptions under the Environmental Information Regulations or the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Defra may be required to release information, including personal data and commercial information, on request under the Environmental Information Regulations or the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, Defra will not permit any unwarranted breach of confidentiality or act in contravention of its obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998. Defra or its appointed agents may use the name, address or other details on your form to contact you in connection with occasional customer research aimed at improving the processes through which Defra works with its contractors. EVID4 Evidence Project Final Report (Rev. 06/11) Page 1 of 37 6. It is Defra‟s intention to publish this form. Please confirm your agreement to do so. ..................................................................................... YES X NO (a) When preparing Evidence Project Final Reports contractors should bear in mind that Defra intends that they be made public. They should be written in a clear and concise manner and represent a full account of the research project which someone not closely associated with the project can follow. Defra recognises that in a small minority of cases there may be information, such as intellectual property or commercially confidential data, used in or generated by the research project, which should not be disclosed. In these cases, such information should be detailed in a separate annex (not to be published) so that the Evidence Project Final Report can be placed in the public domain. Where it is impossible to complete the Final Report without including references to any sensitive or confidential data, the information should be included and section (b) completed. NB: only in exceptional circumstances will Defra expect contractors to give a "No" answer. In all cases, reasons for withholding information must be fully in line with exemptions under the Environmental Information Regulations or the Freedom of Information Act 2000. (b) If you have answered NO, please explain why the Final report should not be released into public domain Executive Summary 7. The executive summary must not exceed 2 sides in total of A4 and should be understandable to the intelligent non-scientist. It should cover the main objectives, methods and findings of the research, together with any other significant events and options for new work. Project Rationale The frequency with which invasive tree pests have become established in the UK has increased in recent years. One interpretation of this observation is that, against a background of changes to global trade patterns, current pest surveillance systems are no longer sufficient to deliver biosecurity by themselves. This project considered the potential for introducing an additional level of surveillance, using existing monitoring networks. Project Objectives 1. review existing insect monitoring and sampling schemes (professional and amateur) and evaluate their potential to contribute to enhanced plant health surveillance; 2. evaluate a wide range of trapping and sampling methods (e.g. canopy entomology) targeted at the major insect orders and pests included in the EPPO A1 and A2 lists,in particular; 3. assess the potential for using new technologies (e.g. next generation sequencing) to resolve detection and identification issues anticipated to arise when adapting existing monitoring and sampling methods; 4. identify existing and potential mathematical modelling approaches that can support the cost-effective design of surveillance systems (similar to those used for the Defra Phytophthora programme); 5. consider the process of data recording and timely delivery of information about potential threats Project Activities A desk study was undertaken to identify and evaluate existing insect and other monitoring schemes. A total of 287 such networks were identified. In addition, a meeting was held with Tim Elliot of the Meteorological Office to consider the potential of utilising EVID4 Evidence Project Final Report (Rev. 06/11) Page 2 of 37 the well-established network of volunteers contributing to the Climate Network. The EPPO A1 and A2 pest lists were critically examined and evaluated for their potential risk to UK trees. Additional species of concern to the Forestry Commission were also incorporated to provide a working „risk register‟ for this project. A total of 73 species spanning five insect orders were identified as potential threats. Of these, 57 had records of some form of attractant having been identified and specific traps were reported for 39 species. The species on the risk register were used to evaluate the range of potential insect trap types. We explored the potential for next generation sequencing to provide timely information about species presence and spread, and the possibilities for mathematical modelling to be used in deciding how many and where traps should be located, through meetings with experts. A critical constraint in any monitoring system is the delivery of timely information and problems relating to location and identification of target organisms that appear at low frequency in large multi-species trap catches often represents a significant time-limiting step. A meeting was held with the sequencing and bioinformatics groups at The Genomic Analysis Centre (TGAC) in Norwich to evaluate the potential of next generation sequencing and metagenomics for resolving this issue. The requirements for mathematical modelling to support the design of surveillance systems were discussed in meetings with the Gilligan laboratory (Cambridge University) and the van den Bosche group at Rothamsted. A workshop was held on 20 March 2013 to consider and test ideas emerging from the project and confirm identified research gaps. Project Conclusions 1. No suitable network exists for straightforward adaptation to provide an additional level of biosecurity surveillance. 2. Most insect trapping methods are tailored to specific taxa. There is some evidence that combining characteristics of different trap types increases the diversity of captured insects but only suction traps are known to be taxonomically neutral with respect to the species that they catch. 3. Next generation technologies are capable of determining (rapidly and cost- effectively) if a known species is present within a mixed species sample. 4. Sample preparation rather than processing is the greater constraint for DNA-based methods; a turnaround time of one week from receipt is feasible. 5. Epidemiological models developed to forecast the spread of pests and diseases can be adapted to support additional biosecurity surveillance by forecasting insect dispersal, and hence be used to examine permutations of trapping networks. 6. The concept of a new national monitoring network, complimenting existing Plant Health procedures by providing timely information about the presence or absence of targeted pest species, is scientifically and technically viable. Research Gaps In order to test the feasibility of a new national pest monitoring network, the following research requirements have been identified: 1. Development of a simple, robust and functional multi-taxa insect trap. EVID4 Evidence Project Final Report (Rev. 06/11) Page 3 of 37 2. Testing and demonstration that specific sequences can be detected from whole trap catch DNA extraction. 3. Determination of characteristics associated with volunteers operating long-term, sustainable scientific networks. 4. Mathematical models to optimise the geographic location of traps. 5. Optimisation of species-specific trapping methods for all targets on a national risk register. 6. Evaluation of multi-species lure mixtures to potentiate traps for risk register species. Project Report to Defra Project consortium The consortium brought together expertise in plant health (Walters), national insect surveillance (Harrington), and insect spatial ecology/dispersal and the functioning of trapping systems (Blackshaw).