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Predation and bark beetle dynamics
Author(s): John D. Reeve
Date: 1997
Source: Oecologia 112: 48-54
Publication Series: Miscellaneous Publication
PDF: Download Publication (416.0 KB)Description
Bark beetle populations may undergo dramatic fluctuations and are often important pests in coniferous forests.Their dynamics are thought to be primarily driven by factors affecting the resistance of the host tree to attack, i.e., bottom-up forces, while natural enemies are usually assigned a minor role in these systems.I present behavioral experiments that suggest that the clerid beetle Thanasimus dubius may be an important source of mortality for the bark beetle Dendroctonus frontalis during attack of the host tree, and determine the nature of the functional response of T. dubius under conditions close to natural.I also examine the numerical response to T. dubius to large-scale fluctuations in D. frontalis density, and the relationship between bark beetle population trends and predator density, and find that beetle populations tend to decline when predator densities are high.Combined with the effects of clerid larvae on bark beetle broods, these results suggest that top-down forces generated by natural enemies could also be an important component of bark beetle dynamics.The implications of these results for bark beetle dynamics are discussed in relation to the prolonged life-cycle of clerid beetles.Publication Notes
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Citation
Reeve, John D. 1997. Predation and bark beetle dynamics. Oecologia 112: 48-54Keywords
scolytidae, cleridae, predation, ratio-dependenceRelated Search
- Predators of the Southern Pine Beetle
- Enantiospecific responses of southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) and its clerid predator, Thanasimus dubius, to a-pinene.
- Biological Control of Southern Pine Beetle
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https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/578