Willem Takken's research
After the Second World War much entomological research was undertaken from the concept that most pest problems caused by insects could be solved by application of insecticides.
Research
Chemical control was considered cheap, effective and safe. It is now realized that this approach was non-sustainable. Already in the early days of chemical control the Laboratory of Entomology choose a different approach for its research, with emphasis on alternative methods of control. Initially the research focused on insect physiology i.e. hormonal regulation of insect development and resulted in the discovery of insect growth regulators as modern and selective control agents. Subsequently much work was done (and continues to be done) on the physiology of insect/plant interactions and the ecology of parasite/host and predator/prey interactions. In the last decade research on arthropod vectors of human and animal diseases complemented the research at the Laboratory.
The Laboratory of Entomology conducts fundamental and applied research. Fundamental scientific research concerns 5 topics:
- Host plant selection by herbivorous insects and mites;
- Chemical communication between plants and carnivorous insects and mites;
- Foraging behaviour of predators and parasitoids;
- Population dynamics of parasitoids
- Evolutionary ecology of asexual reproduction in insects.
Applied research is narrowly associated with the fundamental research, and includes the following topics:
- Development of biological and integrated pest management in greenhouses, orchards and field crops;
- Mechanisms of host-plant resistance;
- Biological and integrated control of pests and vectors in the tropics
Publications
-
Density independent feeding success of malaria vectors (Diptera: Culicidae) in Tanzania.
Bulletin of Entomological Research (1995), Volume: 85, Issue: 1 - ISSN 0007-4853 - p. 29-35. -
Mapping the densities of malaria vectors within a single village.
Acta Tropica (1995), Volume: 59 - ISSN 0001-706X - p. 1-18. -
Synthesis and future challenges: the response of mosquitoes to host odours.
In: Olfaction in mosquito-host interactions. Wiley, Chichester. Ciba Found. Symp. 200 - p. 302-320. -
The initial flight direction of tsetse (Diptera: Glossinidae) exposed to natural and synthetic ox odour.
Proceedings of the Section Experimental and Applied Entomology of the Netherlands Entomological Society (1996), Volume: 7 - ISSN 1388-8390 - p. 241-246. -
Book review: Medical and veterinary Entomology, 2nd edition.
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (1996), Volume: 81 - ISSN 0013-8703 - p. 121-122. -
Host odour composition affects host location efficiency of tsetse (Diptera, Glossinidae).
Physiological Entomology (1996), Volume: 21 - ISSN 0307-6962 - p. 203-211. -
Model simulations to estimate malaria risk under climate change.
Journal of Medical Entomology (1996), Volume: 33 - ISSN 0022-2585 - p. 361-371. -
Behavioural and electrophysiological responses of the female malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) to Limburger cheese volatiles.
Bulletin of Entomological Research (1997), Volume: 87, Issue: 2 - ISSN 0007-4853 - p. 151-159. -
Survival and infection probabilities of anthropophagic anophelines from an area of high prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum in humans.
Bulletin of Entomological Research (1997), Volume: 87, Issue: 5 - ISSN 0007-4853 - p. 445-453. -
Odor-mediated flight behavior of Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto and An. stephensi Liston in response to CO2, Acetone, and 1-Octen-3-ol (Diptera: Culicidae).
Journal of Insect Behavior (1997), Volume: 10 - ISSN 0892-7553 - p. 395-407.