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Theoretical ecology

Waltz of the weevil

Nature volume 470, pages 47–48 (2011)Cite this article

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The aquatic plant Salvinia molesta is a widespread pest of waterways in the tropics and subtropics. A study of its control by a weevil in Australian billabongs sets a new standard in ecological time-series analysis. See Letter p.86

Waltzing Matilda, the bush ballad that became Australia's unofficial national anthem, relates the exploits of an out-of-control sheep shearer “camped by a billabong” (a small stagnant lake) in the Australian outback. On page 86 of this issue we read about the findings of an inspired group of theoretical ecologists1 and their models of out-of-control billabongs. Schooler et al.1 present a mathematical modelling study of an invasive plant species, the noxious weed Salvinia molesta, and its erratic large-scale outbreaks in four billabongs over a period of several decades. The authors' skilfully executed modelling is an imaginative combination of nonlinear dynamics, statistical inference and stochastic time-series analysis.

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Figure 1: Salvinia infestation of the Howard River, near Darwin, Australia.

References

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  1. Lewi Stone is in the Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel. lewi@post.tau.ac.il,

    Lewi Stone

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  1. Lewi Stone
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Stone, L. Waltz of the weevil. Nature 470, 47–48 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/470047a

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