Biosecurity & Health
The Gump Station is involved in various programs aimed at biosecurity and public health. We put these scientific fields together because invasive species are not only threats to natural ecosystems but can also have indirect or direct impacts on human health.
Biosecurity
Invasive species are one of the most serious threats to natural and agricultural ecosystems (e.g., pests and weeds) and human health (e.g., diseases and their vectors). Islands are particularly vulnerable to these problems.
Prevention (surveillance and quarantine) is the best solution but organisms will always arrive and then rapid and effective control is crucial.
Biocontrol Programs
Biocontrol is a potentially powerful response to certain invasive species but it requires a great deal of ecological and biological knowledge of the pest/weed and its natural enemies. Ill-conceived biocontrol programs can have worse impacts than the problem they are supposed to solve. Unfortunately, Polynesia provides some of the worst historical examples of such failures. Nevertheless, modern biocontrol can be a very effective solution. The Gump Station, University of California Berkeley and Riverside, together with the French Polynesian Ministry of Agriculture (MAE-SDR) have carried out what we believe to be an exemplary biocontrol program, see GWSS Biocontrol Program French Polynesia for details.
Public Health
Research related to public health is often carried out in collaboration with the Institut Louis Malarde, the biomedical research center in Papeete, Tahiti.
Mosquito-borne Diseases
Programs are under way to combat mosquito-borne infectious disease (notably dengue fever and human lymphatic filariasis). More information will be posted shortly.
Nutrition
Research programs have focused on the potential effects of populations whose traditional diets have very high fish content. Polynesians have one of the highest levels of fish consumption in the world, which could bring both health benefits and risks. More information will be posted shortly.