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Western Pine Beetle Populations in Arizona and California Differ in the Composition of Their Aggregation Pheromones

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An Erratum to this article was published on 07 June 2016

Abstract

We compared pheromone production and response for populations of western pine beetle, Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte, from sites in northern Arizona and northern California. Volatiles were collected from individuals of both sexes that had mined as a pair in a Pinus ponderosa log for 1 d, and they were subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass-spectrometry. Principal component analysis of quantities of Dendroctonus pheromone components indicated strong site-associated clustering of blend composition for females but not males. Much of the clustering in females evidently was due to differences in the production of endo- and exo-brevicomin, which occurred in average ratios of 0.1:1 and 19:1 for populations in the California and Arizona sites, respectively. In the California site, exo- was better than endo-brevicomin in enhancing trap catches of both sexes to lures containing the host-tree odor α-pinene and the male-produced aggregation pheromone component frontalin. In an identical test in the Arizona site, endo- was a better adjuvant than exo-brevicomin for male attraction, whereas females did not show a significant preference. At neither location were the isomers antagonistic to one another in activity. Thus, one aggregation pheromone has apparently diverged between these populations, concurrent with published evidence that D. brevicomis on either side of the Great Basin are genetically distinct and are possibly different species. Furthermore, production of and response to the isomers of brevicomin by flying Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann in the Arizona site were similar to those of sympatric D. brevicomis. This interspecific signal overlap is likely sustainable since joint species mass-attacks may assist both species in overcoming host defenses, thereby increasing host availability.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Joanne Barrett, Eli Jensen, Seth Davis, and Chris Foelker for trap collection, identification, and data entry. We thank Daniel Cluck for assistance with collection of infested material in California. Rob Johns and Kathy Bleiker provided comments on an early draft. Research was funded by Rocky Mountain Research Station JV aggreement 08-JV-11221633-250 with R.W.H and an operating grant to D.S.P. from the Canadian Forest Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055, rue du PEPS, Quebec City, QC, G1V 4C7, Canada

    Deepa S. Pureswaran

  2. School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Box 15018, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA

    Richard W. Hofstetter

  3. USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Pineville, LA, 71360, USA

    Brian T. Sullivan

  4. USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, AZ Zone, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA

    Amanda M. Grady

  5. Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA

    Cavell Brownie

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  1. Deepa S. Pureswaran
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Correspondence to Deepa S. Pureswaran.

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Pureswaran, D.S., Hofstetter, R.W., Sullivan, B.T. et al. Western Pine Beetle Populations in Arizona and California Differ in the Composition of Their Aggregation Pheromones. J Chem Ecol 42, 404–413 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-016-0696-9

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