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Evolving symbioses between insects and fungi that kill trees in Canada: New threats associated with invasive organisms
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- Author(s) / Creator(s)
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Symbiotic relationships between insects and fungi are known to cause tree mortality
either through direct damage by larval feeding that can be facilitated by symbiotic fungi, or through
insects vectoring pathogens directly to healthy trees. Within their native ranges, the impacts of many
insect-fungus symbioses are restricted to weakened and declining trees; however, within the last
century tree mortality caused by globally invasive insect–fungus associations has had a devastating
impact on trees in both urban and natural forest ecosystems. Unfortunately, Canadian forests have been
seriously affected by invasive organisms and an emerging threat is the expansion of a native bark beetle
into the boreal forest of Alberta. This paper reviews the symbiotic relationships between selected
invasive insects and pathogens that cause tree mortality within the urban and forested landscapes of
Canada; it uses these case studies to illustrate potentially damaging new evolutionary trajectories. -
- Date created
- 2016-01-01
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Type of Item
- Article (Draft / Submitted)