
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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The effect of essential oils of tagetes minuta and tithonia diversifolia on on-host behaviour of the brown ear tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus
Livestock Research for Rural Development 30 (2018)6. - ISSN 0121-3784
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Chemosensory gene expression in olfactory organs of the anthropophilic Anopheles coluzzii and zoophilic Anopheles quadriannulatus
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Chemosensory gene expression in olfactory organs of the anthropophilic Anopheles coluzzii and zoophilic Anopheles quadriannulatus
BMC Genomics 18 (2017). - ISSN 1471-2164 - 14 p.
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Variation in host preferences of malaria mosquitoes is mediated by skin bacterial volatiles
Medical and Veterinary Entomology 31 (2017)3. - ISSN 0269-283X - p. 320 - 326.
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Behavioural responses of Ixodes ricinus nymphs to carbon dioxide and rodent odour
Medical and Veterinary Entomology 31 (2017)2. - ISSN 0269-283X - p. 220 - 223.
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Acarological risk of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infections across space and time in The Netherlands
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 17 (2017)2. - ISSN 1530-3667 - p. 99 - 107.
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A European Perspective : Global one health - a new integrated approach
In: Global Health Challenges / , Frenk, Julio. - Washington : The Trilateral Commission (Task Force Report TFR 67) - ISBN 9780930503970 - p. 67 - 121.
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Profile: The Rusinga health and demographic surveillance system, Western Kenya
International Journal of Epidemiology 45 (2016)3. - ISSN 0300-5771 - p. 718 - 727.
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Decrease in tick bite consultations and stabilization of early Lyme borreliosis in the Netherlands in 2014 after 15 years of continuous increase
BMC Public Health 16 (2016). - ISSN 1471-2458
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The fine-scale genetic structure of the malaria vectors Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) in the north-eastern part of Tanzania
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 36 (2016)4. - ISSN 1742-7584 - p. 161 - 170.