Studies of Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Their Native Ranges Help Predict Invasion Impact
Open Access
- 1 June 2017
- journal article
- Published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH in The Florida Entomologist
- Vol. 100 (2), 257-261
- https://doi.org/10.1653/024.100.0219
Abstract
Ambrosia beetles frequently invade non-native regions but are typically of no concern because most species live in dead trees and culture nonpathogenic symbiotic fungal gardens. Recently, however, several ambrosia beetle—fungus complexes have invaded non-native regions and killed large numbers of host trees. Such tree-killing invasions have occurred unexpectedly, and the mechanism of the ecological switch from dead trees to live trees has been left unexplained, or termed an “evolutionary mismatch.” We demonstrate that the mismatch hypothesis is not supported in the redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), because this beetle is able to colonize live trees also in its native range and its symbiotic fungus acts as a pathogen in some native hosts. We further synthesized findings from recent literature and unpublished observations on several other invasive fungus-associated beetles such as Euwallacea fornicatus (Eggers) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Platypus quercivorus Murayama (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and Pityophthorus juglandis Blackman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to present an alternative to the “evolutionary mismatch” hypothesis. The revised hypothesis is that the majority of destructive ambrosia beetle species that have invaded new regions are already capable of colonizing living tree tissues in their native habitats. Furthermore, associated fungi are typically mildly to strongly pathogenic to native host tree species. A predisposition to colonize living tree tissues occurs in very few ambrosia beetle species, but these species predictably act as pests in invaded regions. Thus, simple screening of ambrosia beetle—fungus pairs for this particular ecological trait—colonization of live tree tissues—in their native habitats could help discriminate future tree-killing invasive pests from the majority of species that likely remain harmless. Los escarabajos descortezadores frecuentemente invaden las regiones no nativas, pero normalmente no son motivo de preocupación porque la mayoría de las especies viven en árboles muertos y cultivan hongos simbióticos no patógenos. Recientemente, sin embargo, varios complejos escarabajo descortezador-hongo han invadido regiones no nativas y han matado un gran número de árboles hospederos. Tales invasiones que matan árboles han ocurrido inesperadamente, y el mecanismo del cambio ecológico de árboles muertos a los árboles vivos se ha dejado inexplicado, o denominado un “desajuste evolutivo”. Demostramos que la hipótesis de desajuste no es apoyada en el escarabajo descortezador de aquacatillo, Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), porque este escarabajo es capaz de colonizar árboles vivos también en su área de distribución nativa y su hongo simbiótico actúa como patógeno en algunos hospederos nativos. Además, se sintetizaron los hallazgos de la literatura reciente y observaciones no publicadas sobre varios otros escarabajos invasores asociados a hongos como Euwallacea fornicatus (Eggers) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Platypus quercivorus Murayama (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) y Pityophthorus juglandis Blackman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) para presentar una alternativa a la hipótesis del “desajuste evolutivo”. La hipótesis revisada es que la mayoría de las especies de escarabajos descortezadores destructivos que han invadido nuevas regiones ya son capaces de colonizar tejidos de árboles vivos en sus hábitats nativos. Además, los hongos asociados son típicamente leve a fuertemente patogénicos para especies de árboles hospederos nativos. Existe una predisposición a colonizar los tejidos de los árboles vivos en muy pocas especies de escarabajos descortezadores, pero estas especies actúan como plagas en regiones invadidas. Por lo tanto, la simple selección de pares de escarabajos descortezadores-hongo para esta caracteristica ecológica particular — colonización de tejidos de árboles vivos —en sus hábitats nativos podría ayudar a discriminar plagas invasoras que matan árboles de la mayoría de especies que probablemente permanecerán no dañinas en el futuro.Keywords
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