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The interaction of pine scale with pines in Attica, Greece

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Abstract

The pine scale (Marchalina hellenica) has been introduced to Attica and reached unprecedented population densities. Using a randomised transect-based sampling design in eight sites, we sampled the insect in random 10 cm squares on the trunk and main branches of pine trees. The insect did not show any clumping other than a micro-site preference for fissures and cracks. Canonical discriminant analysis and generalised multinomial logit regression modelling were used to determine the most important ecological variables which were the following: the population density of the insects; crown transparency; mean distance between trees; and the quality of the habitat. The site and the distance from the line transect were insignificant. The interaction of crown transparency with the abundance of the insect, the mean distance between trees and the quality of each site were important in configuring the level of damage sustained by the pine tree.

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Acknowledgments

A. Feest and K. Spanos are acknowledged for reading the manuscript critically and suggesting ideas in the course of the project. Alan Stewart is thanked for making suggestions regarding an early draft. Professor G. P. Patil (Pennsylvania State University) is greatly thanked for providing literature on sampling, and Vassilis Petrakis provided literature and expert advice on the archaeology of Attica. Dr. G. Baloutsos provided important climatic data and Dr. Martin Gaitlich is thanked for expert ornithological advice. E. Lahlou and A. Voulgaropoulou helped in laboratory work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Entomology, Mediterranean Forest Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Foundation, Terma Alkmanos, 11528, Athens, Greece

    Panos V. Petrakis

  2. Department of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, University of Athens, Panepistemiopolis Zografou, 15771, Athens, Greece

    Vassilios Roussis, Constantinos Vagias & Maria Tsoukatou

Authors
  1. Panos V. Petrakis
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  2. Vassilios Roussis
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  3. Constantinos Vagias
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  4. Maria Tsoukatou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Panos V. Petrakis.

Additional information

Communicated by J. Müller.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 and Fig. 5.

Table 6 Characteristics of various sites in Attica where the transects were positioned. The anthropogenic impact is rated in the interval [0–9] where 0 means no signs of human impact and 9 denotes that the site is next to agricultural land, a suburban area or other human establishment
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Fig. 5
figure 5

Satellite map of Attica Greece showing the locations of the study

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Petrakis, P.V., Roussis, V., Vagias, C. et al. The interaction of pine scale with pines in Attica, Greece. Eur J Forest Res 129, 1047–1056 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-010-0389-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-010-0389-9

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