Projektbeschreibung
In die Köpfe invasiver Insekten geschaut
Invasive Insektenarten verursachen oft ökologischen und wirtschaftlichen Schaden, schädigen Pflanzen und bedrohen Lebensgrundlagen. Invasive Ameisen können Ökosystemen besonderen Schaden zufügen und lassen sich kaum in Schach halten. Herkömmliche Lösungen, wie das Versprühen von Gift, sind unwirksam, da sie in ihren Nestern geschützt sind. Außerdem lassen sich die Ameisen selten mit Gift anlocken, wahrscheinlich, weil sie gelernt haben, es zu umgehen. Das EU-finanzierte Projekt COGNITIVE CONTROL strebt die Entwicklung neuer Ansätze an, um die invasiven Insekten einzudämmen. Dazu sollen moderne Methoden zum Einsatz kommen, die sich ihre kognitiven Fähigkeiten zunutze machen. Die Ameisen sollen mit verbrauchspsychologischen Methoden manipuliert werden, während jegliche verhaltensspezifische Immunität mit neuroaktiven Chemikalien gestört wird. Übergeordnetes Ziel von COGNITIVE CONTROL ist das Vorstellen neuer Ansätze im Kampf gegen invasive fremde Arten.
Ziel
The aim of COGNITIVE CONTROL is to gain fundamental insights into individual and collective cognition and apply them to the emerging global challenge of invasive animal control. Invasive ants are ecologically devastating, economically damaging, and almost impossible to control. Ants are protected physically and by social immunity. However, their cognitive abilities are almost universally ignored, and offer novel angles of attack. Applying behavioural economic and psychological concepts, I will open the new field of Cognitive Control of invasive animals.
In Work Package 1 I will use microeconomic tools to gain unprecedented insights into insect preference structures. Individual choice will be steered using behavioural economic and cognitive interventions. Psychological effects, such as conditioned taste aversion, which may cripple current alien species management, will be tested and overcome. Finally, I will use neuroactives (e.g. caffeine) to improve learning and manipulate preference. In WP2 I will take the WP1 manipulations on to the colony level to gain deep insights into collective cognition. By tracing trophallactic networks I will broaden our understanding of social immunity, which protects ant colonies from attack, and learn to disrupt it. In WP3, I will translate our results into field interventions. These will be tested in buildings with an industrial partner, and in natural environments to combat a damaging invasive ant infestation. Finally, in WP4, we will ask whether behavioural economic manipulations are already being deployed in the natural world, by plants attempting to manipulate their pollinators.
Ignoring cognition has left a critical knowledge gap in invasive species control. This project brings comparative psychology and behavioural economics to conservation, and will establish Europe as a major player in invasive ant control. The interdisciplinary approach will yield innovative insights into decision making in insects, by offering new conceptual frameworks. Introducing cognition to manipulate preferences will revolutionize invasive species control worldwide. Introducing behavioural economics to an understanding of plant-pollinator interactions will force us reassess previously-held assumptions about the mutualistic nature of plant communication.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
Schlüsselbegriffe
Programm/Programme
Thema/Themen
Finanzierungsplan
ERC-STG - Starting GrantGastgebende Einrichtung
93053 Regensburg
Deutschland