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Diversity
Special Issues
Ecology and Management of Forest Insects in the Anthropocene
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Ecology and Management of Forest Insects in the Anthropocene

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity Loss & Dynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 4992

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Amit Roy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
EVA 4.0 Unit, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 16521 Prague 6, Czech Republic
Interests: plant-insect interaction; pest management using RNAi; bark beetles; omics; forest molecular entomology; insect adaptation and genomes; insect symbiosis; insect ecology and evolution; insecticide resistance; horizontal gene transfer
Dr. Audrey Bras

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Dept. of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden
2. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, EXTEMIT-K and EVA.4.0 Unit, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 1176, Prague 6, 165 00 Suchdol, Czech Republic
Interests: Evolutionnary biology; Insect Ecology; Biological Invasions; Insect-plant interaction; Populations Biology; Biodiversity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests are ecosystems vulnerable to native and non-native pests that require adapted management strategies to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In recent years, climate-driven range expansion of native forest pests has been rising in an unprecedented manner. Furthermore, the unintentional introduction of forest pests has been exponential since the beginning of the century, with no sign of saturation from the receiving ecosystem. Most of those invasions are causing significant economic and biodiversity losses, whereas they have often been unnoticed or even unknown in their native area. There is an urgent requirement for robust management practices to restore our forests from those devastating pests. It is also optimal to develop early detection tools for damaged trees. By contrast, beneficial insects also decline through human activities due to habitat loss, urbanization, non-native species, and climate change, leaving potential empty niches for raising pests or non-native species. Understanding species interactions, genetic diversity of pest insects or their ecology, or symbiosis with microbes are initial steps to develop more robust monitoring and management tools to restrict future biodiversity loss.

Dr. Amit Roy
Dr. Audrey Bras
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest pest ecology and management
  • RNAi
  • symbiotic associations
  • biological invasions
  • chemical ecology
  • sensor biology
  • omics
  • community ecology
  • population genetics
  • bark beetles
  • lepidopteran forest pest
  • socio-economic drivers

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4674 KiB  
Article
The Potential of Artificial Snags to Promote Endangered Saproxylic Beetle Species in Bavarian Forests
by Tomáš Lackner, Birgit Reger, Cynthia Tobisch and Volker Zahner
Diversity 2024, 16(5), 270; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16050270 - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 575
Abstract
The creation of artificial snags, so-called high stumps, within forest management operations is a recently established tool to enrich standing deadwood as a habitat for saproxylic species. In this study, we analysed the impact of active high stump management on saproxylic beetle species. [...] Read more.
The creation of artificial snags, so-called high stumps, within forest management operations is a recently established tool to enrich standing deadwood as a habitat for saproxylic species. In this study, we analysed the impact of active high stump management on saproxylic beetle species. We selected 63 high stumps in six Bavarian forest districts (Germany), which were felled and subjected to close examination, focusing on beetle (Coleoptera) colonization. We identified 63 emerged coleopteran species belonging to 29 families; a further 10 taxa were identified only at the genus or family level, respectively. Moreover, 17% of the obtained taxa are listed in the German Red List of Coleoptera. Furthermore, 32% of the examined high stump trunks, predominantly broad-leaved tree species, harboured Red List beetle taxa. In particular, trembling aspen (Populus tremula) showed a disproportionately high number of Red List beetle species. The total species richness of beetles was independent of the height, diameter and decay stage of the snags. High stumps (snags) containing Red List beetle species tended to have higher amounts of deadwood in their surroundings, but the difference was not significant. According to the results of our study, actively creating high stumps proved to be a suitable method for creating habitats and serve as stepping-stones for endangered saproxylic species. Proactive high stump management during harvest can be a valuable component of deadwood management and biodiversity protection in forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Management of Forest Insects in the Anthropocene)
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15 pages, 1751 KiB  
Article
Another Chapter in the History of the European Invasion by the Western Conifer Seed Bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis: The Iberian Peninsula
by Ana Oliveira Farinha, Manuela Branco, Claudine Courtin, Vincent Lesieur, Diego Gallego, Francisco Javier Sanchez-Garcia, Edmundo Sousa, Alain Roques, Marie-Anne Auger-Rozenberg and Audrey Bras
Diversity 2023, 15(1), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010064 - 04 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1960
Abstract
The Western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis, is native to North America and has already been considered a significant pest in several European countries since its first observation in Italy in 1999. In Spain and Portugal, it was recorded for the first [...] Read more.
The Western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis, is native to North America and has already been considered a significant pest in several European countries since its first observation in Italy in 1999. In Spain and Portugal, it was recorded for the first time in 2003 and 2010, respectively, and its impact on Stone Pine (Pinus pinea) is of major concern. Before developing control measures for this insect pest, it is paramount to clarify its spatiotemporal dynamics of invasion. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to (a) characterise the genetic structure and diversity and (b) invasion pathways of L. occidentalis populations in the Iberian Peninsula. To do so, specimens of L. occidentalis were collected at fourteen sites widely distributed within the Iberian Peninsula. We used mtDNA sequences of Cytochrome b and eleven microsatellite markers to characterise the genetic diversity and the population structure in the Iberian Peninsula. Our genetic results combined with the observational dates strongly support a stratified expansion of L. occidentalis invasion in the Iberian Peninsula proceeding from multiple introductions, including at least one in Barcelona, one in Valencia, and one in the west coast or in the Southeastern region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Management of Forest Insects in the Anthropocene)
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17 pages, 3802 KiB  
Article
Identification and Characterization of UDP-Glycosyltransferase Genes in a Cerambycid Beetle, Pharsalia antennata Gahan, 1894 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
by Ningna Yin, Zhengquan Wang, Haiyan Xiao, Tingting Lu and Naiyong Liu
Diversity 2022, 14(5), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14050348 - 28 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1518
Abstract
The cerambycid beetle, Pharsalia antennata Gahan, 1894 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is a wood-boring pest that spends most of its life cycle in the trunks or under the bark of trees. These distinctive biological characteristics make it likely that this beetle will encounter a number [...] Read more.
The cerambycid beetle, Pharsalia antennata Gahan, 1894 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is a wood-boring pest that spends most of its life cycle in the trunks or under the bark of trees. These distinctive biological characteristics make it likely that this beetle will encounter a number of plant defensive compounds, coupled with a broad range of host plants, possibly resulting in the overexpression or expansion of uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glycosyltransferase (UGT) genes. Here, we identified and characterized the UGT gene family in P. antennata through transcriptome data, sequence and phylogenetic analyses, and PCR and homology modeling approaches. In total, 59 transcripts encoding UGTs were identified, 34 of which harbored full-length sequences and shared high conservation with the UGTs of Anoplophora glabripennis. Of the 34 PantUGTs, only 31.78% amino acid identity was observed on average, but catalytic and sugar binding residues were highly conserved. Phylogenetic analyses revealed four Cerambycidae-specific clades, including 30 members from P. antennata. Combining the transcriptome and PCR data showed that PantUGTs had a wide tissue expression, and the majority of the genes were presented mainly in antennae or abdomens, suggesting their putative roles in olfaction and detoxification. This study provides, for the first time, information on the molecular and genetic basis of P. antennata, greatly enhancing our knowledge of the detoxification-related UGT gene family. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology and Management of Forest Insects in the Anthropocene)
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