Considerable variation exists among different regions in numbers of established non-native species. For example, many more European forest insects have invaded North America than North American species have invaded Europe. Here we seek to understand the reasons for these and other types of variation in rates of forest insect invasions among these world regions. We intend to test the hypotheses that both native and non-native species richness of tree herbivores are related to tree species range area and that native and non-native insect herbivore richness are correlated. We will also consider other characteristics of tree species (e.g., growth characteristics) as correlates of native and non-native herbivore diversity.
The field of biogeography has its roots in the 1960’s when theories were developed to explain large-scale variation in biological diversity. Much of this work focused on colonization of islands but additional work considered tree species, themselves, to function as islands, with greater herbivore diversity on tree species ranging across larger land areas. We plan to explore such biogeographical patterns relative to invasions. Specifically, we set out to study the diversity of both native and non-native insect herbivores that use different tree species in Europe and North America as hosts and explore the possible drivers of variation among tree species and among regions. We intend to test the hypotheses that both native and non-native species richness of tree herbivores are related to tree species range area and that native and non-native insect herbivore richness are correlated. We will also consider other characteristics of tree species (e.g., growth characteristics) as correlates of native and non-native herbivore diversity.
Group members
Jiri Trombik, CZU jiri.trombik@gmail.com
Andrew Liebhold, CZU liebhold@fld.czu.cz
Maartje Klapwijk, Swedish Agricultural University
Christer Bjorkman, Swedish Agricultural University
Angela Mech, University of Maine
Deepa Puraswaran, Canadian Forest Service
Events list
Working group meeting, 9-14 February, 2025
Outputs list
Mech, A.M., Liebhold, A.M., Trombik, J., Björkman, C., Gandhi, K.J., Lyytikäinen-Saarenmaa, P., Pureswaran, D.S., Synek, J. and Klapwijk, M.J., 2024. Island biogeography theory and the assembly patterns of native versus non-native forest insects. Oikos, p.e10768.
