Research

Eric Lucas is in charge of the Biocontrol laboratory of the Université du Québec à Montréal since 2002. The research program is based around two main axes: 1) the applied axe, the management of agricultural pests through non-chemical methods, mainly biological methods; 2) the fundamental axe, the study of the interactions between predatory arthropods, mostly dealing with guilds of natural enemies of herbivorous insects.

1- Biocontrol

Many projects are being undertaken to put in place biological and other ecologically friendly methods of crop protection. These projects are based on the principles of biological, physical, cultural and integrated pest management, in an effort to minimize the need for chemicals. In particular, many projects aim to control pest populations through the usage of auxiliary fauna (natural predators). These projects are usually based on the management of agricultural plots, for example: via ground covers, or composite floral hedges to reduce the phytosanitary pressure caused by insect pests. Two projects in landscape ecology also aim to study how the composition and structure of the agricultural landscape affect the intensity of entomological problems. The impact of the current or created agricultural arrangements are evaluated on three different scales: 1- at the intra-field level: the presence of composite hedges and ground covers on the phytosanitary pressure created by pests; 2- at the inter-field level: the impact of the surrounding areas on the plot; 3- at the landcsape level: the impact of the structure and dynamics of the landscape.

Other projects

- Integrated pest management of the sweet potato whitefly in Nicaragua.

- Inoculative pest management of the Eurasian water-milfoil.

- Factors promoting or hampering IPM adoption by horticultural producers of Quebec.

2-Intraguild interactions

Intraguild predation

This program mainly studies the interactions within terrestrial animal communities, more specifically intraguild predation (when an organism devours a competitor). Intraguild predation is considered to be a major interaction, on the scale of an individual, a population and a community. It can notably influence the success of conservation efforts or biological control programs. The aim of this project is to determine which mechanisms favour or limit the intraguild predation of predatory insects and analyze the defensive strategies developed in response to predation. The long term objective of these studies is to use this information to put in place more effective means of biological control program. This project also consists of studying how the structure and dynamic of aphidophagous groups (groups that prey on aphids) are affected by different parameters, such as the conservative crop management, the phenology of agricultural plants, or the structure of the landscape.

Furtive predation

This program studies furtive predation. A furtive predator is a predator that lives in close quarters with its prey and feeds on them without causing significant defensive responses among the prey species (Lucas & Brodeur 2001). This unique type of predation can allow a furtive predator to protect itself from its own predators by hiding amongst colonies of its prey. This project aims to better understand furtive predation and evaluate the possible compatibility between furtive predators and other natural enemies (which is to say, that the two can co-exist without significant intraguild predation). More specifically, this project aims to evaluate to what extent a furtive predator can exploit the passive (hiding in a crowd) and active (warning pheromones) defences of its prey or of the ants that tend to its prey.