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Published (Version of Record)CC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Ecological disequilibrium drives insect pest and pathogen accumulation in non-native trees
AoB Plants, Vol.9(1), plw081
2017
Abstract
Non-native trees have become dominant components of many landscapes, including urban ecosystems, commercial forestry plantations, fruit orchards and as invasives in natural ecosystems. Often, these trees have been separated from their natural enemies (i.e. insects and pathogens) leading to ecological disequilibrium, that is, the immediate breakdown of historically co-evolved interactions once introduced into novel environments. Long-established, non-native tree plantations provide useful experiments to explore the dimensions of such ecological disequilibria. We quantify the status quo of non-native insect pests and pathogens catching up with their tree hosts (planted Acacia, Eucalyptus and Pinus species) in South Africa, and examine which native South African enemy species utilize these trees as hosts. Interestingly, pines, with no confamilial relatives in South Africa and the longest residence time (almost two centuries), have acquired only one highly polyphagous native pathogen. This is in contrast to acacias and eucalypts, both with many native and confamilial relatives in South Africa that have acquired more native pathogens. These patterns support the known role of phylogenetic relatedness of non-native and native floras in influencing the likelihood of pathogen shifts between them. This relationship, however, does not seem to hold for native insects. Native insects appear far more likely to expand their feeding habits onto non-native tree hosts than are native pathogens, although they are generally less damaging. The ecological disequilibrium conditions of non-native trees are deeply rooted in the eco-evolutionary experience of the host plant, co-evolved natural enemies and native organisms from the introduced range. We should expect considerable spatial and temporal variation in ecological disequilibrium conditions among non-native taxa, which can be significantly influenced by biosecurity and management practices.
Details
- Title
- Ecological disequilibrium drives insect pest and pathogen accumulation in non-native trees
- Authors/Creators
- C.J. Crous (Author/Creator) - University of PretoriaT.I. Burgess (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityJ.J. Le Roux (Author/Creator) - Stellenbosch UniversityD.M. Richardson (Author/Creator) - Stellenbosch UniversityB. Slippers (Author/Creator) - University of PretoriaM.J. Wingfield (Author/Creator) - University of Pretoria
- Publication Details
- AoB Plants, Vol.9(1), plw081
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Identifiers
- 991005541395207891
- Copyright
- © 2016 The Authors
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Veterinary and Life Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.40 Forestry
- 3.40.86 Plant Communities
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Plant Sciences
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science