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Reactions of mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) to diets presented with mutualist and non-mutualist fungi Chan, Adrian

Abstract

The interaction between Dendroctonus ponderosae (mountain pine beetle) and an unknown black stain fungi is studied with an experiment that looked at whether beetles had a preference for entering diets that had been mixed with either black stain fungi, blue stain fungi (Grossmania claverigera), or simply malt extract agar. It was predicted that the unknown black stain fungi would be avoided by the beetles because it is not one of the fungal species that Dendroctonus ponderosae has a symbiotic relationship with. Analysis of the results with a chi square test for independence showed that the beetles showed no preference. Even though the beetles did not show a preference, it is possible that competition for subcortical resources and phloem between mutualist and non-mutualist fungal species results in a suppressed mountain pine beetle development. The potential for mountain pine beetle expansion will depend on whether the black stain fungus is more successful than the mycangial symbionts that the beetle invades with.

Item Metadata

Title
Reactions of mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) to diets presented with mutualist and non-mutualist fungi
Creator
Chan, Adrian
Date Issued
2015-04
Description
The interaction between Dendroctonus ponderosae (mountain pine beetle) and an unknown black stain fungi is studied with an experiment that looked at whether beetles had a preference for entering diets that had been mixed with either black stain fungi, blue stain fungi (Grossmania claverigera), or simply malt extract agar. It was predicted that the unknown black stain fungi would be avoided by the beetles because it is not one of the fungal species that Dendroctonus ponderosae has a symbiotic relationship with. Analysis of the results with a chi square test for independence showed that the beetles showed no preference. Even though the beetles did not show a preference, it is possible that competition for subcortical resources and phloem between mutualist and non-mutualist fungal species results in a suppressed mountain pine beetle development. The potential for mountain pine beetle expansion will depend on whether the black stain fungus is more successful than the mycangial symbionts that the beetle invades with.
Subject
Grossmania clavigera; Dendroctonus ponderosae; Mountain pine beetle; Symbiotic fungi; Competition
Genre
Graduating Project
Type
Text
Language
eng
Series
University of British Columbia. FRST 498
Date Available
2015-07-29
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
DOI
10.14288/1.0075643
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/54219
Affiliation
Forestry, Faculty of
Campus
UBCV
Peer Review Status
Unreviewed
Scholarly Level
Undergraduate
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada