Predicting the next high-impact insect invasion: Elucidating traits and factors determining the risk of introduced herbivorous insects on North American native plants

Non-native insect invasions increasingly cause widespread ecological and economic damage in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Non-native insects specialized for feeding on specific plant groups are particularly problematic as they can potentially eliminate an entire genus of native plant species across a wide area. For example, emerald ash borer has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America since its accidental introduction from Asia, including more than 99% of all trees in forests near the epicenter of the invasion. However, most introduced insects do not become high-impact pests. Our goal is to develop a framework that allows us to predict whether non-native herbivorous insects in natural ecosystems...

Categories: Project; Tags: Active, All Working Groups, Ecosystems, Insects, Natural Hazards

Looking for black and white in the grey: Variation in invasion success and management challenges in a global community

Talk at International Congress of Entomology (ICE) in Orlando, Florida, September 25-30, 2016 Introduction: The introduction and successful establishment of non-native insects pose a significant threat to the function and structure of native ecosystems and biodiversity. Forest ecosystems are especially challenged due to the worldwide importance of wood packaging material universally used in global trade, the importation of lumber and wood products, and the importation of live trees for planting, which collectively enables a number of invasion pathways that facilitate the introduction of forest insects. However, most introduced species are relatively benign when introduced into a novel environment, and only a minority...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation