Acoustic communication is widespread in beetles, is often sexually dimorphic, and plays a significant role in behaviours such as premating recognition, courtship, and copulation. However, the factors that determine the presence or absence of acoustic signalling in a given species remain unclear. We examined acoustic communication in bark beetles (Scolytinae) and pinhole borers (Platypodinae), which are two speciose groups with widespread sound production capabilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPreservation of undeveloped land near urban areas is a common conservation practice. However, ecological processes may still be affected by adjacent anthropogenic activities. Ground-dwelling arthropods are a diverse group of organisms that are critical to ecological processes such as nutrient cycling, which are sensitive to anthropogenic activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe parasitoid wasp, Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), is a natural enemy of the spongy moth, a significant forest pest in North America. We investigated the oviposition behavior of O. kuvanae females on spongy moth egg masses by (i) presenting female parasitoids with a single spongy moth egg mass that was replaced every day, 2nd day, 4th day, 8th day, or 16th day (which is the total length of the oviposition period) and (ii) presenting female parasitoids with 1, 2, 4, or 8 egg masses at a time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOystershell scale (OSS; Lepidosaphes ulmi L.) is an invasive insect that threatens sustainability of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) in the southwestern United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHarvester ants create habitats along nest rims, which some plants use as refugia. These refugia can enhance ecosystem stability to disturbances like drought and grazing, but their potential role in invasion ecology is not yet tested. Here we examine the effects of drought and grazing on nest-rim refugia of 2 harvester ant species: Pogonomyrmex occidentals and P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Biological invasions are responsible for substantial environmental and economic losses. The red turpentine beetle (RTB), Dendroctonus valens LeConte, is an important invasive bark beetle from North America that has caused substantial tree mortality in China. The lack of a high-quality reference genome seriously limits deciphering the extent to which genetic adaptions resulted in a secondary pest becoming so destructive in its invaded area.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding factors that drive biodiversity distributions is central in ecology and critical to conservation. Elevational gradients are useful for studying the effects of climate on biodiversity but it can be difficult to disentangle climate effects from resource differences among habitat types. Here we compare elevational patterns and influences of environmental variables on ground-dwelling arthropods in open- and forested-habitats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHow carbohydrate reserves in conifers respond to drought and bark beetle attacks are poorly understood. We investigated changes in carbohydrate reserves and carbon-dependent diterpene defences in ponderosa pine trees that were experimentally subjected to two levels of drought stress (via root trenching) and two types of biotic challenge treatments (pheromone-induced bark beetle attacks or inoculations with crushed beetles that include beetle-associated fungi) for two consecutive years. Our results showed that trenching did not influence carbohydrates, whereas both biotic challenges reduced amounts of starch and sugars of trees.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBark beetles are among the most influential biotic agents in conifer forests, and forest management often focuses on bark beetle chemical communication for tree protection. Although acoustic communication occurs in many bark beetle species, we have yet to utilize acoustic communication for bark beetle control. Here, we describe the stridulatory organs and 'stress' chirps of the pinyon engraver, , a significant pest and mortality agent of pinyon pine in western North America.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTemperature is a key determining factor in the population dynamics of forest insects and their associated biota. Bark beetles, often considered key agents of change in forest ecosystems, are particularly affected by warming in their environment. Beetles associate with various phoretic mite species that have direct/indirect effects on beetle fitness and population dynamics, although there is limited knowledge of how temperature affects these communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatterns of biodiversity along elevational gradients elucidate how climate shapes biological communities and help predict ecosystem responses to environmental change. Arid elevational gradients are particularly interesting because temperature limitations at high elevations and precipitation limitations at low elevations cause mid-elevation peaks in diversity. Ground-dwelling arthropods form highly diverse communities but few studies document elevational patterns of their full diversity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated geographic variation in the semiochemistry of major disturbance agents of western North American pine forests, Dendroctonus brevicomis Le Conte and Dendroctonus barberi Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), species separated by the Great Basin in the USA that until recently were synonymous. At 15 sites in the western USA and northern Mexico, beetle populations were examined to determine (1) pheromone production by solitary, mining females, (2) male electroantennogram amplitudes in response to known semiochemicals for the genus, or (3) relative attractiveness of two female-produced pheromone components (endo- and exo-brevicomin) and two host odors (alpha-pinene and myrcene) to beetles in the field. Compared to female beetles collected east of the Great Basin (D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPinyon-juniper (PJ) woodlands have drastically changed over the last century with juniper encroaching into adjacent habitats and pinyon experiencing large-scale mortality events from drought. Changes in climate and forest composition may pose challenges for animal communities found in PJ woodlands, especially if animals specialize on tree species sensitive to drought. Here we test habitat specialization of ground-dwelling arthropod (GDA) communities underneath pinyon and juniper trees.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTerrestrial animal communities are largely shaped by vegetation and climate. With climate also shaping vegetation, can we attribute animal patterns solely to climate? Our study observes ant community changes along climatic gradients (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInteractions between water stress and induced defenses and their role in tree mortality due to bark beetles are poorly understood. We performed a factorial experiment on 48 mature ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) in northern Arizona over three years that manipulated a) tree water stress by cutting roots and removing snow; b) bark beetle attacks by using pheromone lures; and c) phloem exposure to biota vectored by bark beetles by inoculating with dead beetles. Tree responses included resin flow from stem wounds, phloem composition of mono- and sesqui-terpenes, xylem water potential, leaf gas exchange, and survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTree-killing bark beetles are the most economically important insects in conifer forests worldwide. However, despite >200 years of research, the drivers of population eruptions and crashes are still not fully understood and the existing knowledge is thus insufficient to face the challenges posed by the Anthropocene. We critically analyze potential biotic and abiotic drivers of population dynamics of an exemplary species, the European spruce bark beetle (ESBB) (Ips typographus) and present a multivariate approach that integrates the many drivers governing this bark beetle system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLight-based stimuli elicited acoustic responses in male Hylesinus aculeatus Say (Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Hylesinina) instantaneously, with 100% reliability. Stridulations were elicited with a white light beam in a dark environment and recorded with an ultrasonic microphone. Acoustic responses were consistent, and, when compared with sounds produced under stressful conditions (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe phoretic mite communities of prominent bark beetle pests associated with pine stands of southern Portugal were sampled to determine whether they vary across bark beetle species and stand type. Bark beetles were sampled for mites from two primary (aggressive) bark beetle species (Ips sexdentatus and Orthotomicus erosus) and the most common secondary species (Hylurgus ligniperda) in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) and stone pine (Pinus pinea) in the Setúbal province of Portugal. Twelve mite species, spanning diverse ecological roles, are found associated with these bark beetle systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenomoviruses are circular single-stranded DNA viruses (∼2 kb in size) classified into nine genera, they are highly diverse and have been identified in a variety of samples ranging from fungi to animal sera. Here we identify five genomoviruses belonging to the Gemycircularvirus genus and one to the Gemykibivirus genus from mountain pine beetle and western pine beetle sampled in Arizona. Collectively these six viral genomes share <77% genome-wide pairwise identity and hence represent six new species of genomoviruses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test whether brief exercise and diet advice provided during child patient visits to their orthodontic office could improve diet, physical activity, and age-and-gender-adjusted BMI.
Methods: We enrolled orthodontic offices in Southern California and Tijuana, Mexico, and recruited their patients aged 8-16 to participate in a two-year study. At each office visit, staff provided the children with "prescriptions" for improving diet and exercise behaviors.
Introduction: Exposure to fine particulate matter in the home from sources such as smoking, cooking, and cleaning may put residents, especially children, at risk for detrimental health effects. A randomized clinical trial was conducted from 2011 to 2016 to determine whether real-time feedback in the home plus brief coaching of parents or guardians could reduce fine particle levels in homes with smokers and children.
Design: A randomized trial with two groups-intervention and control.
Children are at risk for adverse health outcomes from occupant-controllable indoor airborne contaminants in their homes. Data are needed to design residential interventions for reducing low-income children's pollutant exposure. Using customized air quality monitors, we continuously measured fine particle counts (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Preventive health services are important for child development, and parents play a key role in facilitating access to services. This study examined how parents' reasons for not having a usual source of care were associated with their children's receipt of preventive services.
Methods: We used pooled data from the 2011-2014 National Health Interview Survey (n = 34 843 participants).
Introduction: Interventions are needed to prevent exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS), which persists in certain immigrant enclaves, including Koreans in the United States. A faith-based and culturally acceptable intervention was developed and pilot tested in collaboration with Korean churches to address SHS exposure among people of Korean descent.
Methods: A pilot cluster randomized intervention trial was conducted with 11 Korean churches in southern California and 75 Korean adults who were exposed to SHS.
Objectives: While obesity is common in the US, disparities exist. Orthodontic samples are assumed to be more affluent than the general population and not in need of assistance in developing or maintaining healthy lifestyles. This paper evaluates the need of the orthodontic population for intervention by examining diet and weight status of an orthodontic patient sample and describes a role for dental clinicians in obesity prevention efforts.
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