Science Bar: “Can Biological Control Save the World?”

Thursday, February 8, 2018, from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Brasserie le Dôme – Montpellier
Free admission (subject to availability)

Biological control is a method of controlling pests—whether animal or plant—using living organisms that act as natural enemies, known as biological control agents.
It is based on humans exploiting a natural relationship between two living beings for their own benefit, according to the following principle:

• The target of pest control is an unwanted organism, such as a crop pest, a weed, or a livestock parasite… ;
• A control agent is a different organism—usually a predator or a pathogen of the target organism—that kills it or limits its growth, either immediately or over time.

Naturally present in most ecosystems, biological control can be intentionally used in agriculture, among other fields, as an alternative to conventional pesticides.
As environmental protection increasingly emerges as a major global concern, biological control could represent a viable alternative to chemical control.
This science-society debate will be moderated by:

• Fabrice Chandre, a researcher atthe IRD (French National Research Institute Research Sustainable Development), specifically withinthe Joint Research Unit on Infectious Diseases and Vectors: Ecology, Genetics, Evolution, and Control (MIVEGEC Laboratory). He is also Director of the CNEV (National Center of Expertise on Vectors);
• Mylène Ogliastro, a virology researcher atINRA (the French National Institute for Research ), specifically at the Diversity, Genomes, and Microorganism-Insect Interactions (DGIMI) laboratory.

 
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