Transcriptome resources and functional characterization of monoterpene synthases for two host species of the mountain pine beetle, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana)

AbstractMountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), adults fly to disperse before host colonisation. The effect of flight on reproduction was tested by comparing the number and quality of offspring from beetles flown on flight mills to that of unflown control beetles. Beetles reproduced in bolts of their native host, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelmann (Pinaceae)), or a novel host, jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lambert (Pinaceae)). Bolts infested by control beetles produced more offspring overall than bolts with flown beetles. The effect of pine species on the number of offspring produced per bolt varied by individual tree. Flown adults produced fewer offspring compared to control parents in all bolts in jack pine regardless of the tree, but tree-level variation was visible in lodgepole pine. An interaction between flight treatment and tree host affected beetle body condition. More offspring emerged from jack pine, but higher quality offspring emerged from lodgepole pine. The offspring sex ratio was female-biased regardless of parental flight treatment. This study reveals trade-offs between flight and reproduction in mountain pine beetle as measured at the level of the bolt.

Download Full-text

Spatial and genetic structure of the lodgepole × jack pine hybrid zone

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2018-0428 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 49 (7) ◽

pp. 844-853 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ian Burns ◽

Patrick M.A. James ◽

David W. Coltman ◽

Catherine I. Cullingham

Keyword(s):

Hybrid Zone ◽

Pinus Banksiana ◽

Pinus Contorta ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Information Criterion ◽

Jack Pine ◽

Snp Markers ◽

Environmental Predictors ◽

Essential Information

In north-central Alberta, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) form a mosaic hybrid zone, the spatial extent of which remains poorly defined. We sought to refine the genetic and geographic distribution of this hybrid zone in western North America to provide information important in predicting future risk of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks. We used 29 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to discriminate lodgepole pine, jack pine, and their hybrids. We compared and contrasted spatial patterns of hybridization in northern and southern forest zones based on the colonization history of the two species. We found that patterns of introgression were more similar between the zones than expected by chance, but there were significant differences between these regions at specific loci. Using logistic regression, we created a robust predictive model to distinguish among lodgepole pine, jack pine, and their hybrids using a combination of geographic and environmental predictors. Using model selection based on Akaike information criterion, we found that location, elevation, and moisture are important predictors for species class. Quantification of the genetic differences between these two regions, combined with an accurate model for predicting the spatial distribution of lodgepole pine, jack pine, and their hybrids, provides essential information for continued effective management of forest resources.

Download Full-text

Forest structure altered by mountain pine beetle outbreaks affects subsequent attack in a Wyoming lodgepole pine forest, USA

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x11-142 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 41 (12) ◽

pp. 2403-2412 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Daniel M. Kashian ◽

Rebecca M. Jackson ◽

Heather D. Lyons

Keyword(s):

Pinus Contorta ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Stand Structure ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Cone Production ◽

Mountain Pine ◽

Large Trees ◽

Pine Beetle ◽

The 1960S

Extensive outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) will alter the structure of many stands that will likely be attacked again before experiencing a stand-replacing fire. We examined a stand of lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm. ex S. Watson) in Grand Teton National Park currently experiencing a moderate-level outbreak and previously attacked by mountain pine beetle in the 1960s. Consistent with published studies, tree diameter was the main predictor of beetle attack on a given tree, large trees were preferentially attacked, and tree vigor, age, and cone production were unimportant variables for beetle attack at epidemic levels. Small trees killed in the stand were killed based mainly on their proximity to large trees and were likely spatially aggregated with large trees as a result of the previous outbreak. We concluded that the driving factors of beetle attack and their spatial patterns are consistent across outbreak severities but that stand structure altered by the previous outbreak had implications for the current outbreaks in the same location. This study should catalyze additional research that examines how beetle-altered stand structure affects future outbreaks — an important priority for predicting their impacts under climate change scenarios that project increases in outbreak frequency and extent.

Download Full-text

OBSERVATIONS ON A TRIAL OF BROADCAST BURNING TO CONTROL AN INFESTATION OF THE MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE DENDROCTONUS PONDEROSAE

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent121521-6 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 121 (6) ◽

pp. 521-523 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

A.J. Stock ◽

R.A. Gorley

Keyword(s):

Pinus Contorta ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Dendroctonus Ponderosae ◽

Management Plan ◽

Management Program ◽

Control Measures ◽

Direct Control ◽

Mountain Pine ◽

Pine Beetle

The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopk., causes extensive mortality of lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm., throughout western North America (Van Sickle 1982). The Prince Rupert Forest Region, in the northwest of British Columbia, initiated an aggressive beetle management program in 1981. Logging of infested stands, and winter felling and burning of individual infested trees are the most common direct control techniques.The “Bristol Lake” infestation developed in the Bulkley Forest District, approximately 55 km northwest of Smithers, B.C., on a steep rocky ridge within the valley of Harold Price Creek. The area contained large volumes of mature lodgepole pine, and control of the infestation was therefore considered critical to the local beetle management plan, but the size (50 ha) and rough topography of the infested area precluded normal direct control measures.

Download Full-text

Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation: Cycling and Succession in Lodgepole Pine Forest

The UW National Parks Service Research Station Annual Reports ◽

10.13001/uwnpsrc.1981.2291 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 131-135

Author(s):

W. Romme ◽

J. Yavitt ◽

D. Knight

Keyword(s):

National Parks ◽

Yellowstone National Park ◽

National Park ◽

Pinus Contorta ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Mountain Pine ◽

Pine Beetle ◽

Surrounding Areas

A research project was initiated in 1980 to study the effects of outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) on lodgepole pine forest (Pinus contorta Dougl. ssp. latifolia) in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas. This native insect apparently has long been associated with lodgepole pine, and reports of small numbers of beetles can be found in Park records as early as 1925. However, in the late 1940's and early 1950's major outbreaks began to occur on the Caribou and Targhee National Forests immediately to the west and southwest of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. An outbreak in Grand Teton National Park and the adjacent Teton National Forest began in the 1950's, with an explosive increase in 1961 followed by an eventual subsidence in the late 1960's. The first major outbreak in Yellowstone National Park began in the late 1960's in the Bechler and South Entrance areas, reaching a peak there in 1970 and later declining. Yearly aerial surveys conducted thereafter showed a steady northward movement of the outbreak through the western half of the Park at a rate of 1 - 5 km per year. By 1978 the peak outbreak was centered around West Yellowstone, with hundreds of infested trees per hectare. The outbreak is now moving north and east along the Madison and Gibbon Rivers, with the greatest beetle populations currently in the vicinity of Madison Junction.

Download Full-text

Balancing risks of disturbance from mountain pine beetle and western spruce budworm

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x09-014 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 839-848 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

V.G. Nealis ◽

M.K. Noseworthy ◽

R. Turnquist ◽

V.R. Waring

Keyword(s):

Pinus Contorta ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Spruce Budworm ◽

Douglas Fir ◽

Closed Field ◽

Western Spruce Budworm ◽

Mountain Pine ◽

Pine Beetle ◽

Population Processes

The effect of removing lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) and retaining Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) to reduce the risk of disturbance from mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopk.) in mixed conifer stands in southern British Columbia, Canada, on population processes influencing outbreaks of western spruce budworm ( Choristoneura occidentalis Free.) was evaluated in 10 paired (open vs. closed) field plots. Overall feeding damage to Douglas-fir was significantly, but only slightly, lower in open stands compared with closed stands. Although open plots tended to recruit more budworms, the losses resulting from the dispersal of spring-emerging budworms in search of feeding sites were significantly greater in open plots. The forest management benefits of these early season losses were mitigated, however, by more mortality of budworms from natural enemies, particularly diseases, in the closed plots during the budworm feeding period. These results are discussed in terms of compensating population processes and balancing objectives in forest pest management. In this case, selective harvesting of lodgepole pine as a mitigation strategy for the mountain pine beetle conserved the midterm timber supply potential represented by associated Douglas-fir even in the presence of an outbreak of the western spruce budworm.

Download Full-text

EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO PINE OILS FOR PROTECTING LODGEPOLE PINE FROM ATTACK BY MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE)

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent1171445-11 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 117 (11) ◽

pp. 1445-1446 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Charles E. Richmond

Keyword(s):

Bark Beetles ◽

Pinus Contorta ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

The United States ◽

Western North America ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Pine Oil ◽

Mountain Pine ◽

Pine Beetle

The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, is one of the most destructive bark beetles found on pine in western North America (McCambridge et al. 1979), particularly in forests of lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta Douglas var. latifolia (Furniss and Carolin 1977). The treatment registered in the United States for the protection of high-value trees in residential areas and recreational areas is 2% carbaryl applied to the bole of the tree with a hydraulic sprayer. Recently, pine oil, a derivative of paper pulp waste, was found to be an effective non-insecticidal repellent against several species of bark beetles (Nijholt et al. 1981).

Download Full-text

Five-Year Operational Trial of Verbenone to Deter Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; Coleoptera: Scolytidae) Attack of Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)

Environmental Entomology ◽

10.1603/0046-225x-34.6.1402 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 1402-1407 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

R. A. Progar

Keyword(s):

Pinus Contorta ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Dendroctonus Ponderosae ◽

Mountain Pine ◽

Pine Beetle

Download Full-text

Entomocorticium dendroctoni gen. et sp. nov. (Basidiomycotina), a possible nutritional symbiote of the mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine in British Columbia

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b87-013 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. 95-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

H. S. Whitney ◽

R. J. Bandoni ◽

F. Oberwinkler

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Bark Beetle ◽

Pinus Contorta ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Pine Bark ◽

Mountain Pine ◽

Pine Beetle ◽

Blue Stain Fungi ◽

Blue Stain

A new basidiomycete, Entomocorticium dendroctoni Whitn., Band. & Oberw., gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated. This cryptic fungus intermingles with blue stain fungi and produces abundant essentially sessile basidiospores in the galleries and pupal chambers of the mountain pine bark beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.). The insect apparently disseminates the fungus. Experimentally, young partially insectary reared adult beetles fed E. dendroctoni produced 19% more eggs than beetles fed the blue stain fungi.

Download Full-text

Prescribed fire as a tool to regenerate live and dead serotinous jack pine (Pinus banksiana) stands

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf17046 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. 478 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Maria Sharpe ◽

Hyejin Hwang ◽

David Schroeder ◽

Soung Ryoul Ryu ◽

Victor J. Lieffers

Keyword(s):

Prescribed Fire ◽

Natural Regeneration ◽

Pinus Banksiana ◽

Mountain Pine Beetle ◽

Jack Pine ◽

Crown Fire ◽

Seedling Regeneration ◽

Dead Trees ◽

Crown Fires ◽

Pine Beetle

This study documents cone opening and natural regeneration of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) after burning live and dead stands similar to those killed by the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). Trees were killed by girdling in May and were burned in late July, 26 months later. Pairs of live and dead plots were simultaneously burned using three types of fire: surface, intermittent crown and continuous crown fires. Each type of fire was replicated three times; the nine pairs of burns were completed in a 4-day period. After fire, more cones were opened on dead trees than live trees. On dead trees, there was cone opening even when fire charred only the lower part of the bole. Three years after burning, dead stands with continuous crown fires had some of the densest regeneration and the highest rates of stocking. Across all burns in this study, seedling regeneration was best in shallow residual duff and in the more intensely burned plots. Without burning, there was virtually no regeneration 5 years after mortality. The results also show that burning, especially under continuous crown fire, could be used to promote regeneration in dead stands.

Download Full-text