Progress 10/01/20 to 09/15/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Over the course of the project, we have engaged forest health professionals from the City of Seattle, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and the USDA Forest Service, who manage the lands on which field sites were located. Results of the project will specifically benefit forest insect pest management by identifying areas within Pacific Northwestern coniferous forests that are more (or less) vulnerable to forest insect outbreaks, and those areas that are more (or less) likely to be affected by multiple biotic disturbance agents over a relatively short time period. Changes/Problems:There were no major changes or problems encountered. Despite COVID-19, we were still able to access field sites though it did force the student funded on the project to work independently, which is not ideal when conducting field work. Check-in procedures and a field safety plan for working under COVID-19 were implemented and approved by the University of Washington prior to conducting field work to ensure student safety. Due to lab safety procedures due to COVID-19, the student was required to process sampled data from the field independently as it was not possible to recruit undergraduate help, which prolonged the processing of data. We also were unable to deploy western spruce budworm larvae as part of our second objective as the rearing lab that supplies life stages of this insect was not able to fulfill our order due to COVID-19. However, we were successfully able to use an alternate sampling method to measure the natural enemy community, which was a method based on prior research in this study system. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project funded and provided training for a PhD Candidate (Alex Pane) during the penultimate year of his degree program. The student's career goal is to work as a scientist at a land managing government agency, such as the USDA Forest Service. Training activities under the project included the sampling efforts to measure populations of the Douglas-fir bark beetle, competitor wood boring beetles, and natural enemies across western and eastern Washington. In concert with these efforts included techniques that quantified stand structure and composition. Skills gained from the field components of the project included insect taxonomy. In addition, the student used a long-term dataset, collected from 1960-2019 over an area that included Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns in forest insect outbreaks based on historical aerial detection survey data. In this objective, the student gained valuable experience using ArcGIS and complete computer code in the statistical software package R. The two objectives under this project collectively provided the student will useful field experiment and data analysis skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Aspects of this work has been presented to both scientific agencies, such as the Entomological Society of America, and Ecological Society of America. In addition, this work has been presented to the local Ecological Restoration Society of Washington. Unfortunately, meeting cancellations and postponements due to COVID-19 prevent the dissemination of this project to more end-user groups during the project period. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the first objective of the project, we quantified the spatial and temporal patterns in forest insect outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest over the last 6 decades (1960-2019). We were especially interested to understand if forest insect outbreaks in the region had become more intense and/or frequent over the study period. We used aerial detection survey data collected by the USDA Forest Service, the Canadian Forest Service, and the British Columbia Ministry of Forests. These data consisted of maps that characterize biotic and abiotic disturbance for each year. Using ArcGIS (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, CA) we recorded the area of insect disturbance areas within 5´5 km cells across the study region for each year and specific species, and within feeding guilds (i.e., all bark beetles, all folivores).We also recorded these values over a 10-year moving window. We used host tree data from rasterized tree species distributions at a 1km resolution to determine forested polygons suitable for biotic disturbance. To analyze the dataset, we used the ncf package the statistical software package R to measure spatial autocorrelation, and the temporal auto and cross-correlation. We also measured spatial auto- and cross-correlation through time for interacting species from between different guilds (i.e., folivores to bark beetles), and between specific insects from the same guild (i.e., Douglas-fir tussock moth and western spruce budworm) or different guild (i.e., Douglas-fir beetle and western spruce budworm) when interacting on the same host tree. Our analysis showed that the spatial extent of outbreaks by insect folivores, such as Douglas-fir tussock moth and western spruce budworm, has remained relatively constant over the entire study period; however, in recent decades, and especially beginning in 2000, there has greater local spatial autocorrelation in folivore outbreaks, suggesting a greater intensity in defoliation at local spatial scales. For bark beetle outbreaks, we detected both increases in the spatial extent of the outbreak, and increased intensity of tree mortality at local spatial scales, in recent decades (i.e., 2000-present) relative to prior decades (i.e., 1960-1990). Overall, this suggests that in both bark beetles and defoliators, the area damaged by each has become more concentrated at local spatial scales, while the overall area damaged by bark beetles during outbreaks has increased in recent years. We note that we observed these patterns in bark beetles when including or excluding areas damaged by the mountain pine beetle, which underwent an unprecedented outbreak between 2000-2012. Thus, this increase in the intensity and spatial extent of bark beetle outbreaks is not limited to mountain pine beetle. Both changes in climate and changes in forest structure are possible drivers of the changes in forest insect outbreak dynamics. In the second objective, we conducted a field-based study to quantify the role of stand conditions and natural enemies in affecting the population dynamics of Douglas-fir beetle and western spruce budworm, which are a representative bark beetle and folivore that feed on a common host tree (Douglas-fir). We used study sites previously established that were located west and east of the Cascade Mountains in Washington. These sites were (1) University of Washington Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest, Eatonville, WA (western Washington); (2) City of Seattle Cedar River Municipal Watershed, North Bend, WA (western Washington); Washington Department of Natural Resources, Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Resources Conservation Area, North Bend, WA (western Washington); (4) Washington Department of Natural Resources, North Mountain Area, Darrington, WA (western Washington), and (5) four sites within the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest; two sites near the Cle Elum, WA area and two sites near the Mazama, WA (eastern Washington). At each study site, we deployed Lindgren multifunnel traps baited with a Douglas-fir beetle lure and ethanol lure, and UNI-traps baited with a western spruce budworm lure to assess background population levels for each insect. We also felled trees and deployed Douglas-fir bolts at each site to measure Douglas-fir bark beetle natural enemies, many of which were also trapped in the Lindgren multifunnel traps. We were not able to deploy western spruce budworm larvae, as we proposed, for use in measuring their natural enemies, as the rearing lab that supplies life stages for this insect was unable to fulfill our order due to COVID-19. Thus, we instead deployed malaise traps in the vicinity of deployed UNI-traps to quantify its natural enemy community. Although we are still in process of taxonomically identifying natural enemies, a process that has been delayed due to COVID-19 and the inability to recruit undergraduate research assistants due to strict limits on the number of personnel allowed in the laboratory at a time, our preliminary analysis indicates that sites in eastern Washington, where outbreaks of both Douglas-fir beetle and western spruce budworm are common, have a much greater natural enemy presence in terms of both abundance and diversity. The natural enemy community for both pest insects is far reduced in western Washington, where outbreaks are rare. Thus, the natural enemy community does not appear to be the reason for the lack of outbreaks in western Washington, or the presence of outbreaks in eastern Washington. Rather, we hypothesize that stand conditions and especially climatic conditions in dry eastern sites, are driving the outbreak dynamics. Understanding the role that of the natural enemy community and stand condition play in the possible suppression of Douglas-fir beetle and western spruce budworm outbreaks informs and greatly enhances forest integrated pest management practices.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Pane, A.M., B.J. Harvey, A.L. Carroll, and P.C. Tobin (2020). Spatial patterns of forest insect outbreaks across the Pacific Northwest. Remote oral presentation at the Entomological Society of America conference.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Pane, A.M., B.J. Harvey, A.L. Carroll, and P.C. Tobin (2020). Spatiotemporal dynamics of forest insect outbreaks across the Pacific Northwest. Remote oral presentation at the Ecological Society of America conference.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Pane, A.M (2020). Trends in native forest insect pests; the Pacific Northwest as a case study. Remote oral presentation at the Ecological Restoration Symposium
|
Progress 09/16/20 to 09/15/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Over the course of the project, we have engaged forest health professionals from the City of Seattle, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and the USDA Forest Service, who manage the lands on which field sites were located. Results of the project will specifically benefit forest insect pest management by identifying areas within Pacific Northwestern coniferous forests that are more (or less) vulnerable to forest insect outbreaks, and those areas that are more (or less) likely to be affected by multiple biotic disturbance agents over a relatively short time period. Changes/Problems:There were no major changes or problems encountered. Despite COVID-19, we were still able to access field sites though it did force the student funded on the project to work independently, which is not ideal when conducting field work. Check-in procedures and a field safety plan for working under COVID-19 were implemented and approved by the University of Washington prior to conducting field work to ensure student safety. Due to lab safety procedures due to COVID-19, the student was required to process sampled data from the field independently as it was not possible to recruit undergraduate help, which prolonged the processing of data. We also were unable to deploy western spruce budworm larvae as part of our second objective as the rearing lab that supplies life stages of this insect was not able to fulfill our order due to COVID-19. However, we were successfully able to use an alternate sampling method to measure the natural enemy community, which was a method based on prior research in this study system. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project funded and provided training for a PhD Candidate (Alex Pane) during the penultimate year of his degree program. The student's career goal is to work as a scientist at a land managing government agency, such as the USDA Forest Service. Training activities under the project included the sampling efforts to measure populations of the Douglas-fir bark beetle, competitor wood boring beetles, and natural enemies across western and eastern Washington. In concert with these efforts included techniques that quantified stand structure and composition. Skills gained from the field components of the project included insect taxonomy. In addition, the student used a long-term dataset, collected from 1960-2019 over an area that included Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns in forest insect outbreaks based on historical aerial detection survey data. In this objective, the student gained valuable experience using ArcGIS and complete computer code in the statistical software package R. The two objectives under this project collectively provided the student will useful field experiment and data analysis skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Aspects of this work has been presented to both scientific agencies, such as the Entomological Society of America, and Ecological Society of America. In addition, this work has been presented to the local Ecological Restoration Society of Washington. Unfortunately, meeting cancellations and postponements due to COVID-19 prevent the dissemination of this project to more end-user groups during the project period. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the first objective of the project, we quantified the spatial and temporal patterns in forest insect outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest over the last 6 decades (1960-2019). We were especially interested to understand if forest insect outbreaks in the region had become more intense and/or frequent over the study period. We used aerial detection survey data collected by the USDA Forest Service, the Canadian Forest Service, and the British Columbia Ministry of Forests. These data consisted of maps that characterize biotic and abiotic disturbance for each year. Using ArcGIS (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, CA) we recorded the area of insect disturbance areas within 5´5 km cells across the study region for each year and specific species, and within feeding guilds (i.e., all bark beetles, all folivores).We also recorded these values over a 10-year moving window. We used host tree data from rasterized tree species distributions at a 1km resolution to determine forested polygons suitable for biotic disturbance. To analyze the dataset, we used the ncf package the statistical software package R to measure spatial autocorrelation, and the temporal auto and cross-correlation. We also measured spatial auto- and cross-correlation through time for interacting species from between different guilds (i.e., folivores to bark beetles), and between specific insects from the same guild (i.e., Douglas-fir tussock moth and western spruce budworm) or different guild (i.e., Douglas-fir beetle and western spruce budworm) when interacting on the same host tree. Our analysis showed that the spatial extent of outbreaks by insect folivores, such as Douglas-fir tussock moth and western spruce budworm, has remained relatively constant over the entire study period; however, in recent decades, and especially beginning in 2000, there has greater local spatial autocorrelation in folivore outbreaks, suggesting a greater intensity in defoliation at local spatial scales. For bark beetle outbreaks, we detected both increases in the spatial extent of the outbreak, and increased intensity of tree mortality at local spatial scales, in recent decades (i.e., 2000-present) relative to prior decades (i.e., 1960-1990). Overall, this suggests that in both bark beetles and defoliators, the area damaged by each has become more concentrated at local spatial scales, while the overall area damaged by bark beetles during outbreaks has increased in recent years. We note that we observed these patterns in bark beetles when including or excluding areas damaged by the mountain pine beetle, which underwent an unprecedented outbreak between 2000-2012. Thus, this increase in the intensity and spatial extent of bark beetle outbreaks is not limited to mountain pine beetle. Both changes in climate and changes in forest structure are possible drivers of the changes in forest insect outbreak dynamics. In the second objective, we conducted a field-based study to quantify the role of stand conditions and natural enemies in affecting the population dynamics of Douglas-fir beetle and western spruce budworm, which are a representative bark beetle and folivore that feed on a common host tree (Douglas-fir). We used study sites previously established that were located west and east of the Cascade Mountains in Washington. These sites were (1) University of Washington Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest, Eatonville, WA (western Washington); (2) City of Seattle Cedar River Municipal Watershed, North Bend, WA (western Washington); Washington Department of Natural Resources, Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Resources Conservation Area, North Bend, WA (western Washington); (4) Washington Department of Natural Resources, North Mountain Area, Darrington, WA (western Washington), and (5) four sites within the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest; two sites near the Cle Elum, WA area and two sites near the Mazama, WA (eastern Washington). At each study site, we deployed Lindgren multifunnel traps baited with a Douglas-fir beetle lure and ethanol lure, and UNI-traps baited with a western spruce budworm lure to assess background population levels for each insect. We also felled trees and deployed Douglas-fir bolts at each site to measure Douglas-fir bark beetle natural enemies, many of which were also trapped in the Lindgren multifunnel traps. We were not able to deploy western spruce budworm larvae, as we proposed, for use in measuring their natural enemies, as the rearing lab that supplies life stages for this insect was unable to fulfill our order due to COVID-19. Thus, we instead deployed malaise traps in the vicinity of deployed UNI-traps to quantify its natural enemy community. Although we are still in process of taxonomically identifying natural enemies, a process that has been delayed due to COVID-19 and the inability to recruit undergraduate research assistants due to strict limits on the number of personnel allowed in the laboratory at a time, our preliminary analysis indicates that sites in eastern Washington, where outbreaks of both Douglas-fir beetle and western spruce budworm are common, have a much greater natural enemy presence in terms of both abundance and diversity. The natural enemy community for both pest insects is far reduced in western Washington, where outbreaks are rare. Thus, the natural enemy community does not appear to be the reason for the lack of outbreaks in western Washington, or the presence of outbreaks in eastern Washington. Rather, we hypothesize that stand conditions and especially climatic conditions in dry eastern sites, are driving the outbreak dynamics. Understanding the role that of the natural enemy community and stand condition play in the possible suppression of Douglas-fir beetle and western spruce budworm outbreaks informs and greatly enhances forest integrated pest management practices.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Pane, A.M., B.J. Harvey, A.L. Carroll, and P.C. Tobin (2020). Spatial patterns of forest insect outbreaks across the Pacific
Northwest. Remote oral presentation at the Entomological Society of America conference.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Pane, A.M., B.J. Harvey, A.L. Carroll, and P.C. Tobin (2020). Spatiotemporal dynamics of forest insect outbreaks across
the Pacific Northwest. Remote oral presentation at the Ecological Society of America conference.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Pane, A.M (2020). Trends in native forest insect pests; the Pacific Northwest as a case study. Remote oral presentation at
the Ecological Restoration Symposium
|