Abstract

Simple SummaryTraps baited with sex attractants and plant odors are used by regulatory agencies to survey for alien invasive forest insects that may arrive via importation of goods from overseas. The performance of these surveys is affected not only by the type of traps and attractants used, but also by where the traps are placed at survey sites. We tested the effect of trap position along horizontal (relative to the forest edge) and vertical (canopy-understory) forest gradients on the diversity and abundance of species of bark and wood boring beetles detected. Both horizontal and vertical trap position affected trap performance, but trends differed among taxa and were context-dependent. For example, jewel beetles were detected mainly in canopy traps regardless of horizontal position, whereas bark and ambrosia beetles were detected mainly in understory traps placed along the forest edge. For optimal early detection of potentially invasive bark and wood boring beetles, surveys should place traps at multiple locations along horizontal and vertical gradients.Semiochemical-baited intercept traps are important tools used to collect information about the presence/absence and population dynamics of forest insects. The performance of these tools is influenced by trap location along both horizontal edge–interior and vertical understory–canopy gradients. Consequently, the development of survey and detection programs requires both the development of effective traps and semiochemical lures but also deployment protocols to guide their use. We used field trapping experiments to examine the impact of both horizontal edge–interior and vertical understory–canopy gradients and their interactions with the species richness and abundance of Buprestidae, Cerambycidae and Curculionidae. Both gradients had significant effects on the diversity and abundance of all three families collected in traps and the pattern of gradient effects differed between the two experiments. In the first experiment, traps were deployed along transects involving large (>100 m) forest gaps and in the second experiment traps transected small (ca. 15 m) forest gaps. These results were consistent with the idea that gradient effects on the abundance and diversity of these three families of forest Coleoptera are context dependent. The results of this study suggest that monitoring programs for bark and woodboring beetles should deploy traps at multiple locations along both vertical understory–canopy and horizontal edge–interior gradients.

Highlights

  • Protocols which guide decisions about the need for management action are a central, defining element of integrated pest management (IPM) programs

  • The assessment of the pest population density requires the development of sampling programs which involve two components, the sampling technique(s) and deployment protocol which guide the use of the sampling technique [2]

  • This study looked at the impact of both horizontal edge–interior and vertical understory–canopy gradients, and their interactions on the diversity of forest Coleoptera detected in traps

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Summary

Introduction

Protocols which guide decisions about the need for management action are a central, defining element of integrated pest management (IPM) programs. These protocols are based on central decision rules which usually involve: (i) the assessment of the density of the pest population;. (ii) an economic threshold; and (iii) phenological forecasting to determine the appropriate time to assess pest density [1] This information is the basis of decision making in IPM. Active techniques (e.g., trap trees, semiochemical-baited traps) are more specific than passive ones (e.g., unbaited Malaise and flight intercept traps), there is some bias inherent in all sampling techniques. In the forest setting, semiochemical-baited flight intercept traps are a common active sampling tool

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