October 2005 Vol. 16, No. 9
International
UNIVERSITY OF
FLORIDA
IFAS
Where UF/IFAS travels the globe!
rams Office of the Vice President for Agriculture & Natt
Taming Hydrilla
UF/IFAS Research
S Scientists Search for BioControl Insects in East Africa
Tn Florida, it's a nightmare plant.
Hydrilla is one of the most pernicious and costly aquatic weeds in the
state, costing taxpayers $12-$15
million a year to control. Introduced all of you into Florida through the aquarium I in the trade, hydrilla thrives in Florida's
Dr the warm, shallow, nutrient-rich lakes
'rograms and rivers.
have been
to forward New strains of hydrilla are resistant he commit- to the most popular, least expensive to have a hydrilla herbicide in Florida, fluri-andidates done. The only existing bio-control of
hydrilla is the grass carp, which must i Borlaug be restocked, can be used only in
closed aquatic systems, and feeds on Small aquatic vegetation. Without new ;t Afrca.i and effective control methods for programa hydrilla within the next three to five
five differ- years, control costs will soar and \1igeria, hydrilla will choke major portions of Ina aso Florida's lakes and waterways.
Animal Enter James Cuda and Bill Overholt,
-ation and from the UF/IFAS Entomology and Iouth and Nematology department and the UF/ it Pathol- IFAS Indian River REC, respectively. nces, They Aware that other scientists are during searching in Asia for bio-control
'ith aI U insects, they turned their sights on ,xp(ertis East Africa, the only place in the llovW world where hydrilla is kept in
)ws in next balance with the rest of the ecosystem
in which it appears. This suggests the national existence of natural predators of
hydrilla there.
nc Armed with this information and
Ronda 32611
7 '! ":",
rKenya, Uganda,
Burundi
Cuda and African scientists raising insects found in hydrilla. They may yield a bio-control agent.
funding support from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Cuda and Overholt spent a twoweek search for hydrilla in Kenya, Burundi, and Uganda. They photographed hydrilla samples in museums, met with a multitude of government officials and African research scientists to discuss collaborative research, and found hydrilla at several sites, most of them along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kyoga.
The team collected hydrilla samples wherever they discovered it, placing specimens in plastic buckets covered with mosquito netting to capture emerging insect herbivores. Over the next two days, the researchers collected two weevil species and several immature and adult midges.
See hydrilla p. 2
INSIDE:
A Blossoming Relationship: trade mission to South Africa
Preserving Orchids: frozen seedbank The Heart of Russia: Sarasota CED travels to Vladimir, Russia
Animal Nutrition Expert Lectures in Ecuador
F International Educator of the Year Gender, Environment, Agriculture, and Participation (GEAP) program
seminars
Telephone: 352 392-1965 FAX: 352 392-7127 Website: http:/linternational.ifas.ufl.edu
Visit the e-version for complete stories and even more International Focus news! http://international.ifas.ufl.edu/news.html
October 2005
Vol. 16, No. 9
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A Blossoming Relationship
UF/IFAS joins South
trade mission to South
South Africa
W agner Vendrame, a faculty
member and tropical flowers expert housed at the UF/IFAS Tropical REC (TREC) in Homestead, was invited to join the South Africa Floriculture/Horticulture Trade Mission led by the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). The goal of the ten-day trade mission was to establish contact with South African ornamental growers to discuss exporting tropical ornamentals from Florida to South Africa. Vendrame, an orchid specialist, showcased UF/IFAS research in ornamental horticulture, including orchid production and general horticulture. South African growers are eager to learn about Florida's wide range of ornamental products suitable for their climate and the lucrative South African market. Several South African growers will visit Florida next year to tour TREC, nurseries, and attend the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibit in Ft. Lauderdale. .Contact: Wagner Vendrame, WAVendrame@ifas.ufl.edu
Hydrilla from p. I
They placed these insects in alcohol and brought them back to Florida for examination by taxonomic experts. Based on the two-week trip's positive results, Overholt and Cuda will approach funding agencies in Florida for additional support to continue searching for natural enemies of hydrilla in eastern Africa. The enthusiasm of highly motivated and experienced African scientists for collaborative research with UF/IFAS will greatly enhance the chance of finding host-specific, effective natural enemies of hydrilla, one of the most economically and environmentally damaging invasive aquatic plants in Florida.-.* Contact: Bill Overholt, WAOverholt@ifas.ufl.edu
International Fellows 2005 from page 1: of highly qualified faculty members who have dedicated a significant amount of their time to collaborative research projects and to increasing the International awareness of our students. They truly contribute to the globalization of the university, which benefits our students, our faculty, our citizens, and the world. It is therefore fitting that a system designed to recognize those achievements is now in place. Faculty members who are identified for their outstanding global efforts are recognized annually as IFAS International Fellows. P.K. Nair and James Jones were our first two designees last year. This year we add the names of Susan Jacobson, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, and Daniel Cantliffe, Horticultural Sciences. This year's Fellows were also nominated for the University International Educator of the Year Award. The University added a second competition this year by including a non-tenured or newly tenured faculty International Educator Award. While IFAS has not developed a similar award, our committee selected two nominees for the University competition. Dr. Daniel Zarin, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and Dr. Emilio Bruna, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, were this year's IFAS nominees. For the results of that award competition, see International Educator of the Year Award, page 3. Win, lose or draw we are very proud of what our nominees have done in International activities.
We also wish to recognize those people who went through the effort of collecting all of the relevant information and nominating faculty members for these awards. Many thanks.:. Read more about the 2005 International Fellows online! Roger Natzke is senior associate dean and director of UF/IFAS International Programs
2 Focus
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UF/IFAS animal nutrition expert lectures in
Ecuador
tropical
conservation scientist wins Brazil
UF International Educator of the Year
E milio Bruna, Ph.D., with UF/IFAS
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and the Center for Latin American Studies, won the prestigious and competitive UF International Educator of the Year Award for untenured or newly tenured faculty. This new award, open to faculty throughout UF, has been added to the UF International Educator of the Year award. It serves as an outstanding reflection of the quality of Bruna's internationally acclaimed research in Latin America's
largest and most complex ecosystems. Bruna's work provides essential information on the structure, function, conservation, and management of the lowland rain forests of the Amazon and the tropical savannahs known as The Cerrado. His research on these two ecologically-critical and seriously threatened biomes has helped solidify UF's reputation as one of the premier institutions in the world to study ecology and conservation of tropical ecosystems.:. Contact: Emilio Bruna, embruna@ufl.edu
L ee McDowell, an animal nutrition
expert on the faculty of the UF/ IFAS animal sciences department, was invited to present three major talks, two wholly in Spanish, at the recent Second Latin American Symposium on Animal Nutrition in the Tropics, held in Quevedo, in Central Ecuador. Twenty-five organizations, including UF/IFAS, supported the conference. In addition to McDowell, who represented the U.S., there were several Ecuadorian speakers and presenters from Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, and Peru.
Topics addressed included the use of enzymes in the diets of ruminants and monogastic (single-stomached) species; standardizing nutritional laboratory analyses; using alternative feeds for livestock nutrition; using adequate minerals and vitamins for livestock; exportation of agricultural products; and good agricultural practices leading to quality products. Much of the information came from UF/IFAS research conducted in Ecuador since the 1970s, involving animal science, agronomy, soil and water sciences, and food and resource economics. One program studied tropical-region forages best suited for grazing cattle. Much of the research and production information developed in Florida can be applied throughout the tropical regions of the world, thanks to Florida's climate and its geographical location. Likewise, some of the information generated in similar tropical areas outside of Florida may have application within our state, benefiting Florida's agricultural industries and citizens. As a result, Florida's livestock industry is well-positioned to serve as a major international player in sharing valuable information worldwide. + Contact: Lee McDowell, McDowell@animal.ufl.edu
See the web for full articles at: http://internationaL.ifas.ufl.edu/news.html
Ecuador
October 2005
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Office of International Programs It____University of Florida IFAS
Office of the Vice President for Agriculture
and Natural Resources P.O. Box 110282
Gainesville, FL 32611-0282 http://internationaLifas.ufl.edu/news.htmi
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GAINESVILLE FL 32611-7001
Gender, Environment, Agriculture and Participation program (GEAP) seminars
G EAP sponsored several seminars
in late October by three guest speakers, including UF graduate Susan Poats, Ph.D., a founding member of the Corporaci6n Grupo Randi Randi (CGRR), an NGO in Quito, Ecuador.
Poats is an anthropologist with extensive experience in international agricultural and natural resource management projects, particularly at the community level. She has worked throughout the world, most recently in Latin America. She earned her Ph.D. in anthropology at UF and returned to UF to work in IFAS international programs for several years. During that time she was a founding member of Women in Agricultural Development Program at UF, currently
known as the Gender, Environment, Agriculture and Participation program (GEAP). She has lived and worked in Ecuador for almost 15 years. Poats presented "Andean watersheds and watershed analysis: participatory research for development using information technology and toolbook," which is CGRR's main area of work. Poats gave a demonstration about "toolbook" and the watershed management project, emphasizing participatory techniques to define and manage watersheds, including a socio/cultural perspective. The "toolbook" seminar was sponsored by the UF/IFAS agricultural and biological engineering department.
Poats also presented "Using Farmer Field Schools to Learn about Integrated Pest Management in Beans: A Case Study from the Chota Valley in Northern Ecuador," sponsored by the UF/ IFAS entomology and nematology department. Other speakers in the
seminar series were Hilary _Sims Feldstein, Ph.D., the Y Gender Working Group Facilitator, Participatory Quito,
Research & Gender Analysis Ecuador
Program (PRGA) Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Dublin, New Hampshire and Mary Hill Rojas, Ed.D. the Director, Asian Region, Women in Development Project Management Unit, Chemonics International, Inc., Washington, D.C.:. Contact:
Marta Hartmann,
MMHARTMANN@ifas.ufl.edu
The "Everglades REC visits Costa Rica" article has been delayed, due to serious damage at the EREC from Hurricane Wilma. The International FOCUS editors and International Programs staff extend our heartfelt wishes for recovery to the many members of the UF/IFAS family hit by this year's hurricanes, as well as the many thousands of hurricane victims left homeless, injured, and/or bereaved throughout the U.S. and Caribbean region. Our thoughts and hopes for recovery are with you.
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