Abstract Detail
Plant biotech & Risk Assessment Auer, Carol [1]. Ecological Risk Assessment for Herbicide-Resistant Creeping Bentgrass: A Case Study. Stakeholders and scientists have recognized that herbicide-resistant creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) has the potential to escape cultivation and create hybrids with other bentgrass species. At present, the federal government is considering an application to approve herbicide-resistant creeping bentgrass (HRCB) for sale in the U.S. We have initiated a multi-disciplinary project to characterize the potential ecological risk in Connecticut from HRCB by studying ecological impacts (hazards) and routes of exposure (e.g. gene flow, gap colonization by stolons). A study of bentgrass biogeography in Connnecticut revealed that ten bentgrass species can be found in a wide variety of natural and managed habitats. Information on bentgrass distribution, habitat and the potential for pollen-mediated gene flow will be presented. Initial results from a multi-year research program exploring plant fitness, habitat suitability modeling and mechanisms of bentgrass dispersal will be reported. The justification for these ecological risk assessment projects is the uncertainty surrounding HRCB risk and the need for new modeling tools that can be used to characterize any type of plant population for risk assessment and risk management. Resources (handouts) will be provided to assist educators who want to develop an ecological risk assessment case study based on the situation with HRCB.
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1 - University of Connecticut, Plant Science, Box U-4163, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, United States
Keywords:
ecological risk assessment.
Presentation Type: Plant Biology Abstract
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P45028
Abstract ID:2171 | 