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
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Water management as a tool for malaria mosquito control? The case of the Office du Niger, Mali
Irrigation and Drainage Systems (2002), Volume: 16, Issue: 3 - ISSN 0168-6291 - p. 201-212. -
Analysis of arthropod bloodmeals using molecular genetic markers
Trends in Parasitology (2002), Volume: 18 - ISSN 1471-4922 - p. 505-509. -
Distribution and dynamics of larval populations of Anopheles messeae and A. atroparvus in the delta of the rivers Rhine and Meuse, The Netherlands
Ambio (2002), Volume: 31 - ISSN 0044-7447 - p. 212-218. -
Muggen & Knutten
Lelystad: RIZA -
Voorkomt het dagelijks gebruik van thiamine en/of vitamine B muggenbeten?
Apothekers Vademecum (2002), Volume: 15 - p. 1-1. -
Vectorgelieerde zoönosen en mogelijke effecten van urbane en rurale ecologische systemen
Tijdschrift voor Diergeneeskunde (2002), Volume: 127 - ISSN 0040-7453 - p. 396-396. -
Behavioural responses of Anopheles gambiae to ammonia, lactic acid and a fatty acid in a y-tube olfactometer
Proceedings of the Section Experimental and Applied Entomology of the Netherlands Entomological Society (2002), Volume: 13 - ISSN 1388-8390 - p. 147-152. -
Host-specific cues cause differential attractiveness of Kenyan men to the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae
Malaria Journal (2002), Volume: 1 - ISSN 1475-2875 -
Central projections of olfactory receptor neurons from single antennal and palpal sensilla in mosquitoes
Arthropod Structure & Development (2003), Volume: 32 - ISSN 1467-8039 - p. 319-327. -
Avian malaria in Rotterdam
Dutch Wildlife Health Centre Newsletter (2003), Issue: 2 - p. 3-4.