Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Opening Remarks by Fred Baker Description of revised NIFA program by Rick Meyer. NIFA modeled after NIH. Transition date not yet set. Comments and suggestions about priority areas should be sent to Roger Beachy, Director NIFA: Discussion of opportunities for forest pest-related research. Rick encouraged our group to send suggestions and concerns to USDA NIFA. We decided to send a letter as a group, similar to what we did several years ago. Ken Raffa distributed that letter (Nov 11, 2002) by email and hard copy to the group. Perspectives on the shifts in funding emphases and mechanics from a Land Grants Institution were provided by Stella Coakley. State Reports were given by the above attendees. The group elected William Jacobi as Secretary and Chair-elect. The group voted to hold its next meeting in Portland, OR attached before or after the upcoming NAFIWC. David Shaw agreed to serve as local coordinator. The group discussed strategy for writing a proposal to NIFA for a grant-writing workshop.

Objective 1. Characterize the diversity and interactions among tree hosts, bark beetles, their natural enemies, and associated microbes. Several studies are testing putative effects of wildfire on tree susceptibility to mountain pine beetles. Results suggest moderately injured trees may be most susceptible, but brood production in fire-injured trees is not necessarily high. Comparisons of bacterial associates of mountain pine beetle in lodgepole, jack, and lodgepole-hybrid pines are underway. Several studies are comparing the defense chemistry of lodgepole versus whitebark pine, and other parameters of tree defense and mountain pine beetle colonization. Phenolic chemistry holds promise as a tool to identify coast live oak resistance to Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of SOD. A large scale experiment is testing whether phenolic chemistry can be used for this purpose. Work on ash resistance to the emerald ash borer has continued. The first proteomics study to compare resistant and susceptible species to identify resistance gene is in the publication process. We have developed a gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric protocol to quantify methyl jasmonate, a key phytohormone in resistance to pathogens and insects, in ash phloem. We have also contributed to generation of transcriptomic data from ash phloem and emerald ash borer midgut to further dissect the nature of host resistance in this interaction. Investigators established and surveyed 126 vegetation plots across 14 counties in the emerald ash borer (EAB) quarantine area in northern Kentucky to assess forest susceptibility to and impacts of EAB invasion. EAB was first reported in Kentucky in May 2009. Susceptible host material ranged from 3-30% (no. stems of Fraxinus spp.) Crown thinning is evident in several plots, but no ash mortality directly attributable to EAB was noted. Several studies on aspen decline underway. These are aimed at trying to quantify comparisons between recent versus historical trends. Bacterial associates of Sirex noctilio have been characterized. Disease intensity has been quantified and survival modeled for the 3 principal host trees of Phytophthora ramorum in central California. An exactly dated history of red oak borer populations in 107 red oaks from 1938  2008 indicated that timing of these population phases varied geographically, although peak borer densities at most sites occurred in 2001, consistent with timing of observed regional host mortality. Borer numbers were growing across Arkansas since the mid-1970s, at least eleven generations prior to observed host tree mortality. Borer population growth was positively correlated with drought severity, however endogenous factors, such as maturity of northern red oaks, were also likely important due to geographic variation in timing of borer population phases. Objective 2: Characterize the diversity and interactions among tree hosts, bark beetles, their natural enemies and associated fungi. Bacterial associates of mountain pine beetles have been characterized. These have varying tolerances to host terpenes, and may be involved in degradation of host compounds that adversely affect beetles and their symbiotic fungi. Bacterial associates of Sirex noctilio have very strong celluloytic activity. Laboratory and field studies have been initiated to characterize and model the response of D. ponderosae-associated fungi to temperature. Systemic induced resistance (SIR) to pitch canker, caused by Gibberella circinata, has been shown in natural populations of Monterey pines in central California. Objective 3: Integrate and apply the knowledge gained from objectives 1 and 2 to forest ecosystems as influenced by emerging issues such as invasive species, global climate change, changing land use patterns and multiple and conflicting societal demands A study on Spruce beetles, thinning, and prominent root disease infestation is underway on the T.W.Daniel Experimental Forest. Studies on Fire, Dwarf mistletoe and Mt Pine Beetles are underway in CO and CA. A hazard-rating model for White Pine Blister Rust is under development. This includes a small-scale meteorological analysis of the risk of WPBR in the Rocky Mts. A demonstration study of pruning of blister rust impacted trees was installed at: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and Medicine Bow NF in cooperation with UDSA Forest Service, Forest Health Management. Plots were remeasured and cankers pruned at GSDNPP in 2010, five years after the plot installation. A new project is studying regeneration issues related to natural regeneration and planting limber pine seedlings. Field studies have been initiated across four western states to gather baseline data on D. ponderosae lifecycle timing and associated weather variables. These data are being used to evaluate demographic models of D. ponderosa population success for use in forecasting population success in a changing climate. Common garden laboratory studies are being used to describe genetic differences in diapause thresholds among several D. ponderosa populations. These data will be incorporated into existing model frameworks for D. ponderosae that are being used to predict landscape-scale probability of population success in a changing climate.

Aukema, B.H., J. Zhu, J. Moeller, J. Rasmussen & K. F. Raffa. 2010. Interactions between below- and above- ground herbivores drive a forest decline and gap-forming syndrome. For. Ecol. & Management. 259: 374-382. Aukema B.H., J.S. Powell, M.K. Clayton & K.F. Raffa. 2010. Variation in complex semiochemical signals arising from insects and host plants. Environ. Entomol. 39:874-882. Adams A.S., Adams, S.M., C.R. Currie, N.E. Gillette & K.F. Raffa. 2010. Community analysis of bacteria associated with the red turpentine beetle, Dendroctonus valens. Environ Entomol. 39: 406-414. Baker, F.A., and Guyon, J.G. 2010. Distribution of Three Dwarf mistletoe species within their host tree crowns. Western Journal Of Applied Forestry, 25:194-198. Bentz, B.J., J. Régnière, C.J. Fettig, E.M. Hansen, J. Hicke, J.L. Hayes, R. Kelsey, J. Negrón, S. Seybold. 2010. Climate change and bark beetles of the western US and Canada: Direct and indirect effects. BioScience 60(8):602-613. Bonello, P. 2010. Potential of induced resistance as a tool for the management of pathogens and insects in trees  An ecological viewpoint. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science 40: S15-S24 Bracewell R.B., M. E. Pfrender, K.E. Mock, and B.J. Bentz. 2010. Cryptic postzygotic isolation in an eruptive species of bark beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). Evolution. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01201.x Egan, J.M., Jacobi W.R., Negron J.F., Smith, S.L. and Cluck, D. R. 2010. Forest thinning and subsequent bark beetle-caused mortality in Northeastern California. Forest Ecol. Management. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.08.030 Eyles, A., Bonello, P., Ganley, R., and Mohammed, C. 2010. Induced resistance to pests and pathogens in trees. New Phytologist 185: 893908 Fierke, M. K. and F. M. Stephen. 2010. Dendroentomological evidence associated with an outbreak of a native wood-boring beetle Enaphalodes rufulus. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 40: 679-686. Gordon, T.R., Kirkpatrick, S.C., Aegerter, B.J., Fisher, A.J., Storer, A.J., Wood, D.L. 2010. Evidence for the occurrence of induced resistance to pitch canker, caused by Gibberella circinata (anamorph Fusarium circinatum), in populations of Pinus radiata. Forest Pathology doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0329.2010.00678.x. Haavik, L. J., M. K. Fierke, and F. M. Stephen. 2010. Factors affecting suitability of Quercus rubra as hosts for Enaphalodes rufulus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Environ Entomol. 39(2): 520-527. Haavik, L. J. and F. M. Stephen. 2010. Stand and individual tree characteristics associated with Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) infestations within the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests. Forest Ecology and Management 259: 1938-1945. Haavik, L.J., and F.M. Stephen. 2010. Historical dynamics of a native cerambycid, Enaphalodes rufulus, in relation to climate in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Ecological Entomology 35:673-683. Kleczewski, N.M., Herms, D.A., and Bonello, P. 2010. Effects of soil type, fertilization and drought on carbon allocation to root growth and partitioning between secondary metabolism and ectomycorrhizae of Betula papyrifera. Tree Physiology 30:807-817. McMahon, M.D., K. F. Raffa, Nordheim E. V. & B.H. Aukema. 2010. Too close for comfort: Effect of spacing distance and pattern on statistical inference of behavioral choice tests in the field. Ent. Exper. et Applic.136: 66-71. McPherson, B.A., Mori, S.R., Wood, D.L., Kelly, M., Storer, A.J., Svihra, P., Standiford, R.B. 2010. Responses of oaks and tanoaks to the sudden oak death pathogen after 8 y of monitoring in two coastal California forests. For. Ecol. Management 259: 2248-2255. Nagle, A.M., Long, R.P., Madden, L.V., and Bonello, P. 2010. Association of Phytophthora cinnamomi with White Oak Decline in Southern Ohio. Plant Disease 94:1026-1034. Sharik, T.L, Adair, W., Battaglia, M., Baker, F.A., Comfort, E.J., DAmato, A., Delong, C. DeRose, J., Ducey, M.J., Harmon, M., Levy, L., Logan, J.A., OBrien, J., Roberts, S., Rogers, P., Shinneman, D.J., Spies, T., Taylor, S.L., Woodall, C., And Youngblood, A. 2010. Some emerging themes in the ecology of North American Forests with Management Implications. International Journal of Forestry, Volume 2010 (2010), Article ID 964260, 11 pagesdoi:10.1155/2010/964260 Wallis, C., Eyles, A., Chorbadjian, R.A., Riedl, K., Schwartz, S., Hansen, R., Cipollini, D., Herms, D.A., Bonello, P. 2010. Differential effects of nutrient availability on the secondary metabolism of Austrian pine (Pinus nigra) phloem and resistance to Diplodia pinea. Forest Pathology (available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0329.2009.00636.x)