Biological Invasions (2011) 13, 1151-1164

Bjørn Økland, Nadir Erbilgin, Olav Skarpaas, Erik Christiansen and Bo Långström (2011)
Inter-species interactions and ecosystem effects of non-indigenous invasive and native tree-killing bark beetles
Biological Invasions 13 (5), 1151-1164
Abstract: Frequent bark beetle outbreaks cause biome-scale impacts in boreal and temperate forests worldwide. Despite frequent interceptions at ports of entry, the most aggressive bark beetle species of Ips and Dendroctonus in North America and Eurasia have failed to establish outside their original home continents. Our experiments showed that Ips typographus can breed in six North American spruce species: Engelmann spruce, white spruce¸ Sitka spruce, Lutz spruce, black spruce and red spruce. This suggests that differences between the Eurasian historical host and North American spruce species are not an insurmountable barrier to establishment of this tree-killing species in North America. However, slightly diminished quality of offspring beetles emerged from the North American spruces could reduce the chance of establishment through an Allee effect. The probabilistic nature of invasion dynamics suggests that successful establishments can occur when the import practice allows frequent arrivals of non-indigenous bark beetles (increased propagule load). Model simulations of hypothetical interactions of Dendroctonus rufipennis and I. typographus indicated that inter-species facilitations could result in more frequent and severe outbreaks than those caused by I. typographus alone. The potential effects of such new dynamics on coniferous ecosystems may be dramatic and extensive, including major shifts in forest structure and species composition, increased carbon emissions and stream flow, direct and indirect impacts on wildlife and invertebrate communities, and loss of biodiversity.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Bjørn Økland, Nadir Erbilgin

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Ips typographus	Spruce (Picea)
	Dendroctonus rufipennis