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Using economics to support emerald ash borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) detection strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2015

Michael Campbell*
Affiliation:
Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Alfons Weersink
Affiliation:
Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Daniel W. McKenney
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada P6A 2E5
Krista Ryall
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada P6A 2E5
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: mcampb16@uoguelph.ca).

Abstract

Early detection of emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire; Coleoptera: Buprestidae) infestation is problematic, with visual indicators not appearing until late during an infestation, and detection methods often requiring substantial trade-offs between information yielded and cost. Decision makers must determine which detection methods provide sufficiently valuable information that matches their objectives and adhere to budget constraints. Notably, decision makers from different organisations often have different objectives; hence their perceptions of costs and benefits of these choices can vary. Economic thought and analysis can provide useful insights for decision makers concerned with understanding and balancing costs and benefits associated with detection strategies. Here we provide a brief review of economic studies of EAB and present a conceptual framework on the detection strategy problem drawing on “information economics”.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© Entomological Society of Canada 2015 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Chris MacQuarrie

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