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Anti-HIV drugs discovered in rainforest plants

It has long been known that plants offer many resources besides food, erosion mitigation and carbon storage. Scientists have been deriving medicines from plants to treat diseases for decades. One of the most famous, of course, is quinine from the cinchona tree of South America that is used to treat malaria. Recently, scientists have discovered plants in Malaysia that show great potential as anti-HIV drugs.

Calanolide A has been shown to have significant anti-HIV effects. It is derived from the tree Calophyllum lanigerum var. austrocoriaceum, an exceedingly rare member of the Guttiferae or mangosteen family. This tree has almost been completely wiped out because it is used by people for firewood and/or building material. Studies have shown that Calanolide A reduces the levels of human immunodeficiency virus in the blood and is effective against strains of HIV that quickly became resistant to other drugs. It even shows signs of effectiveness against tuberculosis, a major killer of HIV carriers in the developing world. A related tree species, Calophyllum teysmannii var. inophylloide, produces a compound named Calanolide B that has also been shown to exhibit activity against HIV. Both are presently in clinical trials.

These natural compounds and others like them would not have been discovered without the work of taxonomists. The identification of plants and research into their genetic makeup and medicinal effectiveness is an important element of the work of taxonomists.

Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Single Doses of (+)-Calanolide A, Terri Creagh, et al., Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2001, p. 1379-1386, Vol. 45, No. 5

July 2007; Contact: Paul Donahue, Dr. Swen C. Renner

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Saving a plant species from extinction

Scientists often use biological control as a means of doing away with pests. This entails careful taxonomy to identify the pests, as well as a species that would prey upon them. Once careful identification and study has taken place, the control species can be introduced to rid the target species. Great care has to be taken, however, that the introduced species will not itself become a pest.

A successful example of biological control took place in 1993 in St. Helena. Gumwood, Commidendrum robustum (Asteraceae), the national tree of St. Helena, was in danger of extinction because of alien insects, Orthezia scale and Orthezia insignis. It was accidentally introduced into St Helena in the 1970s or 1980s, and became a conspicuous problem when it started feeding on gumwood in 1991.

The International Institute of Biological Control (now CABI Bioscience) assisted the Government of St. Helena to carry out a biological control program against this pest. There was already an indication that a suitable predator might be available, the coccinellid beetle, H. pantherina. A collection of the beetle was obtained from Kenya where it had been introduced to control Orthezia on jacaranda, and it was cultured and studied in UK quarantine. These studies showed that reproduction of the beetle is dependent on the presence of Orthezia, and that the beetle lays eggs directly onto adult Orthezia females. The larvae grow inside the female host and then often consume her.

In 1993, the beetle was imported, cultured and released in St. Helena. It rapidly became established and did indeed control Orthezia on gumwoods. The gumwood was saved from extinction in its natural habitat. This is probably the first case of biological control being implemented against an insect in order to save a plant species from extinction.

Wittenberg, R.; Cock, M.J.W. (2001) Invasive alien species. How to address one of the greatest threats to biodiversity: A toolkit of best prevention and management practices. CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK.

July 2007; Contact: Paul Donahue, Dr. Swen C. Renner

Remedy or not? The difference lies in the species.

Organism: Liane, Ancistrocladus abbreviatus

Relevant Sector: Human Health

Geographic Location: Sub-Saharan Africa

Beginning in the mid 80ties, the National Cancer Institute of the USA started a systematic screening for herbal ingredients, which might be usefull as medicament for something.

One partner in this programme was the Missouri Botanical Garden und one of its staff, Duncan W. Thomas took a sample of a rather rare and rare inconspicuous liane in the Korup National Park, which is located in the southwestern Cameroon. The plant was in the first instance misleadingly identified as Ancistrocladus abbreviatus, a common liana with world wide distribution.

Samples were sent to the USA, tested and one, isolated agent was found, the so-called Michellamin B , which has an in-vitro activity against HIV/AIDS. A sensation! Quite naturally, more of this agent was needed for further tests and research, i.e. more plants were needed. Hastily, more specimens of the widely distributed Ancistrocladus abbreviatus were collected. These samples proved, however, completely inefficient against HIV and not a trace of Michellamin B was found.

What went wrong? Were the leafes badly conserved so that Michellamin B degraded during transport to the USA? No, this problem could be excluded. This was the reason why Duncan Thomas and taxonomists from the Missouri Botanical Garden compared with the plant from the first sampling site with Ancistrocladus abbreviatus. And indeed: there were small but significant and constant differences; there were two species, which also explains the discrepancy in agent content. This new species was decribed as Ancistrocladus korupensis, to honour the location were it was found for the first time.

Without the knowledge and experience of the taxonomists involved, the subtle difference between the species would remain undetected with some certainty. Too inconspicuous for the untrained eye. Furthermore, the taxonomists could use herbaria specimens from the Korup National Park and from all over the world. It is only with this herbaria specimens, which covered a large geographical area and comprised quite a few specimens, that the difference were found to be significant, and not only individual variations.

The recourse to specimens from Herbaria and botanic gardens was significantly faster and more efficient than equipping new expeditions searching for the new species Ancistrocladus korupensis, in order to solve the riddle by research on the spot in Africa. The analyses of the herbaria and botanic garden speciemens swiftly indicated the locations to search for Ancistrocladus korupensis.

An quick and simple test was developed by Dr. Jan Schlauer, a biochemist from Tübingen, Germany, and so Michellamin B and similar substances can now be tested in smallest amounts in herbaria specimens. It was found that Michellamin B is indeed present (though in smaller quantities) in two other African species Ancistrocladus congolensis and A. likoko. Both species have a wider distribution and are more common than the rare A. korupensis.

The possible social, ecological and financial gain of a new medicament and its production based on the sustainable use of natural ressources, is much higher than the rather minimal costs for scientists and herbaria. These costs are much lower than those required for extensive expeditions, acquisition and restoration, if there is no previous information and no taxonomic knowledge.

Sources, Links and Photos: Ancistrocladaceae and Dioncophyllaceae (with Photos): Botanically Exciting and Phytochemically Productive Tropical Lianas; The Search for Ancistrocladus in the Missouri Botanical Garden

Contact: Dr. Jan Schlauer, Dr. Fabian Haas

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Who keeps Abalone from prospering?

Organism: Abalone, Snails, Haliotis, Gastropoda

Relevant Sector: Aquaculture & Fishery

Geographic Location: USA, Pacific

Abalones are snails which slowly found their way into the cuisine of many countries. Their name is probably derived from a Spanish origin, and they are in fact a number of species of the Genus Haliotis (Gastropoda: Archaeogastropoda: Haliotis).

As so often, the natural fishing grounds of Abalones are over-exploited, and so this species is cultured in tanks on land or in on-shore regions in the seas. California, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, Tasmania, Taiwan and China are amongst the most important producers of Abalones.

These cultures present ideal conditions for parasites! And so things went wrong in the first half of the 1990ties. Then, more and more specimens of Abalone were found, which were growing very slowly and had an deformed shell. Animals are harvested at lengths of 8-10 cm, and as they were not pleasing the eye, they could not be sold. The infestation was so heavy and complete, that the whole of California's Abalone production was at risk, and one farm did indeed went bankrupt. Incidentally, the price of one kilogram Abalone meat is around 60 Euro to (depending on species) up to 400 Euro, making the whole production worth several million Euros. This prices also invites poachers ...

The parasite was identified as an unknown polychaete worm (Polychaeta: Sabellidae: Terebrasabella heterouncinata), which does not harm the Abalone, strictly speaking: the worm does not feed on the host, nor does it poison the snail and nor does it reproduce in the host. However, it does build tunnels in the snail's shell, preferably at the growing margin, which is sufficient to cause the animals to grow slower and with deformed shell.

Measures were urgent. Counter measure had to be found, and research was need to examine if the local mollusc fauna was at risk – not only Haliotis. In this case the introduction of the parasite might yield much wider unwanted results for the Californian marine ecology. Consequently the first question was, if this parasite was introduced or overlooked in the local fauna, and if introduced, from where. If you know that it is a much easier task to search for the pest's pest and predators.

If the parasite has been overlooked, then ancient snails do show the signs of parasitism: deformed shells. If it is new in the region, then the snails were alive and kicking, having well developed, elegant shells. The only place to find an answer to that is a museum collection. There, records of the fauna of 10, 20 or 50 years are kept, ready for further studies with latest technology. However, museum collections can what latest technologies cannot do: effectively travel through time and see what was going on decades or centuries ago. Without this information proper answers cannot be given. Incidentally, the cost of a museum dwarfs in relation to the damage done to the Abalone farmers!

In this case, however, latest technology was not necessary: the parasite leaves easily recognizable tunnels in the Haliotis shells. None of the over 100 Abalone shells examined in the Los Angeles County Museum for Natural History collected before 1990, had these tunnels. The worm was new and was not overlooked in California waters.

In a swift and world wide cooperation amongst the researchers, cultures were examined, and it was found that the worm originates form Southern Africa. Some cultures of some species were infested.

Classical taxonomical and biological research revealed the life cycle of the wormy parasite. The predisposition of this worm as pest became evident: short and direct development, hermaphrodite, transfection through the water (no direct contact of snails needed). Unfortunately, natural enemies could not be found, yet and so the tanks and culture were cleaned annually. In California alone, more than 1.5 Mio infected animals were culled.

More Information on Abalone and its economy: The Abalone Mapping Project; A species list is found here: www.seafoodinfocenter.org; The webpage of a farm, including Abalone recipes: www.bcabalone.com; Another farm with recipes: www.fishtech.com; Biological information: Conservation and Research Seafood Watch; Department of Fischeries & Aquaculture of Western Australia: Pages on Abalone: 'The world production of cultured abalone has grown rapidly to 7,165 metric tonnes (mt) in 1999 with an additional shortfall in supply of 7,000 mt projected (Fleming, in Fleming and Roberts 2000, pp.1-15).'

Abalone Aquaculture in Western Australia Policy Guideline; Distribution and Ecoomics; Production, Consumption and Demand; Synopsis of Infectious Diseases and Parasites of Commercially Exploited Shellfish

Contact: Christoph Bleidorn Systematik und Evolution der Tiere, FB Biologie/Chemie/Pharmazie, FU Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, D-14195 Berlin, Germany; Dr. Fabian Haas

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Black Widow is travelling

Organism: Black Widow, Australian Red Back, Latrodectus hasselti, Aranaea

Relevant Sector: Human Health

Geographic Location: Australia, Japan, Pacific

In September 1995, alien spiders were found in Osaka, Japan, which resembled the notorious and poisonous Black Widow too much to feel comfortable. They were first sighted in a harbour where oil tankers from Sidney were discharging their payloads. Already in November, the same year, these spiders were confirmed to be a Black Widow, the Australian Red Back (Latrodectus hasselti). Immediately, measures were taken, for example, school children were taught that there is a new, sometimes deadly danger in their area.

Through the swift and sure identification of the spider, the taken measures prevented bites and sicknesses and thus lives were safed and medical costs reduced. How was that done?

All species of spiders are registered in catalogues since the 1950ties and the taxonomic information is regularly updated. This activity is continued today but exclusively on the internet, and so the latest taxonomic information is freely available to everyone and eight days a week (The World Spider Catalogue)!

As early as the 1960ties, an informal and thus efficient network of spider specialists exists, not only for single countries, but on a global scale (e.g. International Society of Arachnology, ISA). Particularly in Australia, researchers made strong attempts to catalogue all species and to make this diversity accessible through identification keys. The first result is the CD-ROM on Spiders of Australia published in 2002.

Even back in 1995, the network of specialists was well established and the identification keys were advanced, and so the Australian Red Back was also identified in Japan. No easy task: this spider does not occur there but in a distance of several thousand kilometres across the Pacific Ocean.

In 2001 and 2003 local authorities of Osaka (Japan) and a specialist in Brisbane (Australia) met to discuss the situation. On this occasion it became apparent that the Australian Red Back was much more resistant to cold than it is in Australia homeland. In their new habitat, they survived temperatures below freezing for periods of 13 days healthily and even reached higher population densities compared to Australia.

Theses results are enormously important for preventive measures in countries with temperate climates! Generally it was assumed that these countries are safe against introduction and distribution of tropical, poisonous spiders. This incidence clearly shows that we cannot rely on the climatic safeguard.

Sound taxonomic knowledge combined with a world wide network of experts proved essential for swift, focused and efficient counter measures. Thus, the local people could were well informed, preventing mass hysteria and deadly accidents.

Sources and Links: The World Spider Catalog; ISA International Society of Arachnology

Contact: Dr. Peter Jäger, Sektion Arachnologie, Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg,

Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

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The Cameraria Moth – horse chestnut leaf miner

Organism: horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum, leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella, Lepidoptera

Relevant Sector: Plant Protection

Geographic Location: Central Europe

In many parts of Europe, the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a popular urban tree. Over the last 11 years, a moth, Cameraria ohridella, spread over Eastern and Central Europe, starting from Macedonia, which significantly damages the horse chestnut. The larvae of this moth mine in the leafs of this tree, turning the leaves brown and the foliage is lost prematurely. This weakens the tree and may kill the tree in the long run.

The horse chestnut is a common tree in our European cities and so its disappearance would significantly change the cityscape and the quality of urban life. More: the dead trees would be exchanged over time with other trees, which would be a very significant financial burden for the communities, which already have significant financial problems. Some of them can hardly afford the simple but efficient control measure of removing the foliage under the trees.

In an EU project, CABI-Bioscience ('Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International' in London, UK) tries to find classical, biological pest management methods, preferably predators or parasites of the home region of this moth. This, however, is not known and so expensive expeditions need to be undertaken to find the natural distribution of the horse chestnut leaf miner.

This is the moment where classical taxonomy helps. A phylogenetic study of Cameraria ohridella and closely related species, which are available in museum collections, will show with some probability where the pest moth naturally occurs. Closely related species often occur in a small range. This will diminish the search range for the Cameraria leaf miner significantly: a potential world wide distribution will decrease to areas such as China. If the ecology of the closely related species is known, then it follows that the pest moth will probably have a similar ecology. This, naturally, helps in the search. You have to search only in forests, beaches or mountain ranges and not everywhere.

A phylogenetic study can only be conducted by a biologist experienced in taxonomical techniques, based on the material available in museum collections. This material must be constantly collected. Incidentally, this is the only way to establish, if a species is new to a certain area, and where it occurs first. Without this information, no-one could have established that the horse chestnut leaf miner first appear in Macedonia in 1985 and spread all over Europe since then.

In comparison with the possible financial damage, which would be millions of Euro for Germany alone, the costs to employ a taxonomist are minor. The dismissal of this person might safe a little money in the short run, in the long run, quite the opposite would result.

Sources and Links: Allgemeine Informationen zu Cameraria Miniermotte; EU-Projekt CONTROCAM (Control of Cameraria) von der EU Website; CABI-International Homepage

Contact: Dr. Fabian Haas

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What damage did the sinking of the oil tanker ‚Prestige’ cause?

Relevant Sector: Fishery & Conservation

Geographic Location: Spain, Pacific

On 13 November 2002, the oil tanker Prestige sank before the coast of Northern Spain with a payload of 70.000 tons of heavy fuel oil. The wreck is located at 42° 12’N 12° 3’W in a depth of about 3.000 m. The wreck is leaking and the oil covered large parts of the Galician coast line, and the deep sea accumulates toxics in an unprecedented scale.

Shortly after the sinking, journalists asked colleagues and me, what damage the leaking ship already caused and will cause over the years to come. The Spanish and German colleagues had to answer that this region of the Atlantic has not been adequately studied, and so the impact of a oil leaking wreck in 3.000 m depth on the environment cannot be judged.

Now, the Spanish government is financing ecological studies of the impact, which come much too late because the situation before the accident is not known. An exception to this is the region around Ría de Ferrol, where scientists of the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, conduct a survey of marine animals. Numerous new and unknown species were discovered, and very soon it became evident that only the smaller part of the fauna is known. At 3000 m depth were the Prestige now found permanent residence, no research on animal life was ever conducted.

The ecological studies starting after the disaster are all but inadequate because the natural pristine state is unknown. A comparison does always need two data to be significant: one before and one after the event. Taxonomy and a register of organisms are both urgently needed fundamental research, in order to analyse the massive changes taking place in our environment, and to develop conservation strategies. Without this knowledge the remaining life in the Oceans and on land of this planet will be lost.

Contact: Prof. Dr. J. W. Wägele, Fakultät Biologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany

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Crop increased by 300 % by earthworms

Organisms: Tea-Plant, Earthworm

Relevant Sector: Agriculture

Geographic Location: India

In order to re-naturate waste land, scientist are convinced that only the profound knowledge of the biological and chemical processes in the soil is needed to succeed and increase crops. All this without applying large amounts of pesticides and fertiliser. Earth worms, termites and other soil-dwelling organisms are subterranean ploughs recycling the soil and bringing nutrients to the surface. They increase the water capacity, and so sterile soils are susceptible to drought and erosion.

An impressive example comes from India. Indigenous earthworms became extinct through the permanent and ample use of fertilisers in the tea producing region of Tamil Nadu in India. However, the re-introduction of the indigenous earthworms increased the stagnating crops by 300 %!

This success was based on the intimate, taxonomic knowledge of the local soil dwellers. Only if theses organisms are identified with certainty, the really important and beneficial ones can be selected, cultured and re-introduced. The waste land was too large for a simple ‚revitalisations’ by deploying live soil, which would probably include the introduction of pest organisms.

Source: UNEP United Nations Environment Programme Annual Report 2002

Contact: Dr. Fabian Haas

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Tiny beetle, enormous damage: consequences of a wrong identification

Organism: Buprestis haemorrhoidalis, wood-boring beetles, jewel beetles or flat headed borers

Relevant Sector: Forestry & Agriculture

Geographic Location: Canada, Northern America

In 1992 an unusual beetle was found in the forests of British Columbia (Canada). No expert was at hand, who could identify this species and it took one year to have it diagnosed as Buprestis haemorrhoidalis, a European Buprestid (also called wood-boring beetles, jewel beetles or flat headed borers). The delay in the identification gave the beetle decisive advantages for distribution: two reproductive cycles.

If one beetle has only 100 descendants, then after two cycles there are 100 time 100 i.e. 10.000 beetles, instead of only 100. All of them will distribute and reproduce and need control.

As a consequence of this delay, the extinction program had to cover a much larger area, thus increasing logistic problems in this impassable country and costs. Compared to these measures the costs for a specialist with suitable collection and museum dwarf in comparison to the multi-billion Euro timber industry in Canada. Furthermore the possible damage such an invasive species could cause is in the range of several million Euros, just because of one beetle in one year … A specialist could be paid for several decade with the same amount of money.

Source: Systematics Agenda 2000

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No pest management without botanic gardens

Relevant Sector: Pest management, Agriculture

Geographic Location: global

Many harmless plants and animals developed to important pest organisms once they were transferred to new areas and regions of the world. This was often done undeliberatly with world wide trade, or deliberately by settlers who brought these plants to the colonies as ornamental plant or kitchen herbs.

Plant completely harmless in e.g. Europe, proved to be aggressive pests rendering swaths of land unsuitable for farming. Examples are the Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) from the Amazon, covering African streams today. Or the Whitetop or Hoary Cress (Cardaria draba) in North America. Or the Giant Hogweed or Cartwheel flower plant (Heracleum mantegazzianum) which is distributing with enormous pace along the high way system in Europe. Or the Himalayan Balsam (aka Policeman's Helmet; Impatiens glandulifera). The importance of these so-called ‚invasive species’ is underpinned by GISP Programme, the Global Invasive Species Programme, and by the Convention on Biological Diversity.

In order to counter these plants CABI-Bioscience tries to develop biological pest management, based on organisms, most often insects, from the home countries of the pest plants. The more specific these organisms are to the pest plant, the better.

This procedure is efficient with two prerequisites. You need to know where the pest comes from, it is only then that you can systematically search for the plant and its pests. This will also show under which climatic conditions the plant’s pest will prosper. Without that knowledge, which is often provided by the Natural History Museum in the form of regional floras, time and money consuming research is need to find that out, which in turn will further defer counter measures and thus increasing costs.

Further on, the new organism must prove its suitability to combat the plant in experiments. Seeds are needed to culture the plant and collecting them is not an easy task, especially when a substantial genetic diversity is required. The only institutions capable of providing a great genetic variability are botanic gardens and the herbaria – incidentally largely unnoticed by the public. This is why CABI-Bioscience has close relations to these institutions and regularly relies on their support in pest experiments.

This cooperation safes enormous money in developing pest managements, and lowers the costs for botanic gardens in real terms. Apart from that the botanic gardens do fulfil many other functions. Pest management without botanic gardens would be extremely expensive and hardly possible to develop.

An example for the close cooperation is an excerpt of the list of botanic gardens which collaborate with CABI-Switzerland:

Austria : Botanic Garden, Vienna

Belgium : National Botanic Garden of Belgium at Meise

Canada : Botanic Garden, Montreal

Denmark : Botanic Garden, Copenhagen

Finland : Botanic Garden, Turku

Germany : Botanic Gardens in Aachen, Göttingen, Karlsruhe, Leipzig and Marburg; Botanic Gardens of the Humboldt University of Berlin; Botanic Garden of the University of Konstanz

Italy : Botanic Garden of the University of Genua; Botanic Garden of Hanbury, Latta; Botanic Garden of the University of Padua ; Botanic Garden of the University of Palermo

Russia : Botanic Garden, Moscow

Slovakia : Botanic Garden of the University of Bratislava

United Kingdom : Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Source: Annual Report 2002 of CABI-International Switzerland (CABI Bioscience Switzerland Centre); CBD on alien species; GISP Global Invasive Species Programme

Contact:Dr. Fabian Haas

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Biological Control of the Whitetop

Organism: Whitetop or Hoary Cress, Cardaria draba

Relevant Sector: Agriculture & Pest Management

Geographic Location: USA, Northern America

The Whitetop or Hoary Cress (Cardaria draba) is a perennial plant, distributing by vegetative root shoots and seed. It is an aggressive invasive species conquering fields, meadows, river banks, and is particularly common in perturbed and irrigated areas. Conventional pest control is not always effective and needs re-application over several years to ensure success.

The plant was introduced from Europe in the 19th century, and is ever since spreading in the western and northern USA. It is considered to be pest in 14 US states and three Canadian provinces. So a project was launched in 2001 to find a classical, biological pest management. This programme is co-ordinated with those of the USDA-ARS EBCL (United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research - European Biological Control Laboratory) in Montpellier, France, and the Montana State University, USA.

As a start, specimens from 100 locations in ten countries were collected: Armenia, Denmark, Germany, France, Austria, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and Hungary. Naturally, the most efficient pest of the plant was searched there.

This would have not been possible without detailed knowledge of the habitats of the Whitetop. The habitats are established by thee classical taxonomic work of the natural history museums resulting (and published) in so called regional floras. This floristic knowledge now and suddenly proved essential for a possible biological pest management. Without the classical knowledge of the whereabouts of this plant, the swift and efficient, and thus cheap, collection at 100 locations would not be possible and would be delayed by several years until these data were collected.

The - cost-effective - work of the museums, the production and publishing of regional floras, pays off twice. There is no need for new research, and so no extra costs for CABI and other firms accumulate, and furthermore, the pest management is available earlier: damage is reduced earlier, again costs are reduced.

Source: Annual Report 2002 of CABI-International Switzerland (CABI Bioscience Switzerland Centre)

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