Based on the same principles used to investigate cosmic processes and provenance of items of forensic and commercial value, stable isotope and trace element biogeochemical signatures show promise as markers of an insect’s natal origin.
In the context of national biosecurity, point of origin discrimination of pests detected in surveillance and border security programs can be of significant economic and social value; as provenance information can identify risk pathways; as well as distinguish whether samples from surveillance traps are non-established new arrivals or if they represent an established population. This information can direct appropriate operational responses in exotic pest eradication campaigns, as well as support maintaining “area pest free” status and thereby preserving export trade access for produce from a given region.
In this webcast we will briefly review the comparatively new field of tracking insect movement using natural abundance biogeochemical markers. Recent advances will be discussed, including a much improved understanding of fundamental principles, focusing on research which has used high-impact internationally distributed pests and real-world pest incursion case-studies. These works have shown strong potential for entomological provenance resolution through the multivariate examination of both climatically and geologically linked spatial markers, namely δ2H, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr, 207Pb/206Pb and 208Pb/206Pb isotope ratios. The provenance value of trace element concentration signatures will also be discussed.
