Publications by authors named "Martin Charest"
With current trends in global warming, it has been suggested that spruce budworm outbreaks may spread to northern parts of the boreal forest. However, the major constraints for a northward expansion are the availability of suitable host trees and the insect winter survival capacity. This study aimed to determine the effect of larval feeding on balsam fir, white spruce and black spruce on various spruce budworm life history traits of both the parental and the progeny generations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The white spruce has been found to have a chemical defense mechanism against spruce budworms, primarily involving compounds called hydroxyacetophenones.
- The study reviews how these compounds exist in different forms (aglycons and glucosides) and highlights the genetic, molecular, and biochemical aspects of this defense.
- New findings reveal variations in defense responses during development and the timing of herbivore attacks, with implications for both evolution and breeding strategies.
The hemlock looper, Lambdina fiscellaria, is an economically important insect pest of Canadian forests which overwinters as eggs. Although the hemlock looper causes extensive damages, no information on the mechanisms related to its cold tolerance is known. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of temperature and exposure duration on hemlock looper winter survival but also to identify seasonal supercooling capacity and cryoprotectant levels of three populations along a latitudinal gradient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF