Determinants of tree susceptibility to attack by the red alder bark beetle, Alniphagus aspericollis (LeConte) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

UBC Undergraduate Research

Determinants of tree susceptibility to attack by the red alder bark beetle, Alniphagus aspericollis (LeConte) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) Takaro, Tristan

Abstract

The immeasurable effect that bark beetles can have on forest ecosystems provides justification for the close study of bark beetle populations. Bark beetles that attack hardwoods have not been as extensively studied as those that attack coniferous species, and the red alder bark beetle in particular has received very little attention. Alniphagus aspericollis is a bivoltine “secondary” bark beetle that specializes on red alder. In this observational study in Vancouver, British Columbia several tree characteristics are assessed for their relationship with the likelihood of the tree being attacked by the bark beetle using logistic regression analysis. It was found that diameter at breast height (DBH) did not significantly affect the likelihood of attack, and that the level of injury of a tree is a good predictor of its likelihood of being attacked by the bark beetle.

Item Metadata

Title	Determinants of tree susceptibility to attack by the red alder bark beetle, Alniphagus aspericollis (LeConte) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)
Creator	Takaro, Tristan
Supervisor	Carroll, Allan; Marshall, Peter Lawrence, 1953-
Date Issued	2013-04-22
Description	The immeasurable effect that bark beetles can have on forest ecosystems provides justification for the close study of bark beetle populations. Bark beetles that attack hardwoods have not been as extensively studied as those that attack coniferous species, and the red alder bark beetle in particular has received very little attention. Alniphagus aspericollis is a bivoltine “secondary” bark beetle that specializes on red alder. In this observational study in Vancouver, British Columbia several tree characteristics are assessed for their relationship with the likelihood of the tree being attacked by the bark beetle using logistic regression analysis. It was found that diameter at breast height (DBH) did not significantly affect the likelihood of attack, and that the level of injury of a tree is a good predictor of its likelihood of being attacked by the bark beetle.
Subject	Bark beetle; Secondary; Injuries; Likelihood; Diameter; DBH
Geographic Location	Vancouver (B.C.)
Genre	Graduating Project
Type	Text
Language	eng
Series	University of British Columbia. FRST 498
Date Available	2013-11-12
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI	10.14288/1.0075630
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/45465
Affiliation	Forestry, Faculty of
Campus	UBCV
Peer Review Status	Unreviewed
Scholarly Level	Undergraduate
Rights URI	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository	DSpace

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