Niche breadth and resource partitioning by four sympatric species of bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Abstract

Standing loblolly pines in southeastern North America are colonized by four sympatric species of bark beetles: Dendroctonus frontalis (Zimm.), Ips calligraphus (Germ.), I. grandicollis (Eichh.) and I. avulsus (Eichh.). The beetles compete for the limited amount of phloem tissue used as a site for reproduction. Using indices of niche breadth and niche overlap determined from the surface areas attacked, the interaction of colonizing beetle species in partitioning resources in entire trees and within each sample level was examined. The broadest niche breadth was exhibited by I. avulsus, while I. grandicollis had the narrowest. D. frontalis dominated the lower bole and overlapped primarily with I. calligraphus. The upper bole was similarly dominated by I. avulsus, which overlapped only slightly with D. frontalis, but overlapped extensively with I. calligraphus. Within tree species diversity was highest in the mid-bole sections and declined progressively toward the stump and top. Increasing species diversity showed a strong positive correlation with increasing mean niche overlap.

Ecological segregation of bark beetle (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae) infested Scots pine

“…2a). Amezaga and Rodrı´guez (1998) pointed out similar limitations of the model for I. sexdentatus and T. piniperda, two species that colonized parts of the trap trees with bark thickness 0-2 mm, and by Paine et al (1981) for four species of different body size colonizing P. taeda in North America.…”

“…The assessment of biotic interactions among the individuals in the bark beetle populations was based on the equations used in similar studies related to the ecology of bark beetles (Paine et al 1981;Gru¨nwald 1986;Schlyter and Anderbrant 1993;Amezaga and Rodrı´guez 1998).…”

“…(Gru¨nwald 1986) or in pine species such as P. sylvestris (Amezaga and Rodrı´guez 1998;Borkowski 2013), Pinus radiata (D. Don) (Amezaga and Rodrı´guez 1998), Pinus resinosa Ait. (Ayres et al 2001) and Pinus taeda (L.) (Paine et al 1981). This type of research is very labor-intensive.…”

Semiochemicals in the Natural History of Southern Pine Beetle Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann and Their Role in Pest Management

“…Each produces a unique aggregation/sex pheromone blend that functions in attracting mates and possibly in aggregating conspecifics for mass attack (Smith et al, 1993). The species tend to partition the host tree by colonizing different portions of the bole but there is nonetheless substantial niche overlap and competition among them (Paine et al, 1981). Within established, growing D. frontalis infestations, D. frontalis represents the pioneer species that selects trees and initiates mass attack on new trees; other members of the guild typically follow (Stephen, 2011).…”

Phylogenetic Analysis Reveals New Genus of Ipini Bark Beetle (Scolytidae)

“…It was not possible to determine which of the secondary species arrived first at these trees, but it appeared that all attacked in spring of the same year, whereas endemic D. ponderosae attacks followed P. mexicanus infestation later in the summer. The separation between species suggests the use of resource-partitioning strategies where niche demarcation is likely determined by the timing of attack and olfactory means as seen in other insect-host systems (Paine et al 1981;Amezaga and Rodriguez 1998).…”