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Q&A ViewAttendees 1

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-Minute Paper

P-IE: Forest Entomology

Landscape-level drivers of spread by laurel wilt disease across the southeastern US

Wednesday, November 3, 2021
9:00 AM - 9:12 AM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 103-105
In-Person

    Presenting Author(s)

  • SW

    Samuel F. Ward

    Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University
    Mississippi State, Mississippi

    • Co-Author(s)

  • JR

    John Riggins

    Mississippi State University
    Mississippi State, Mississippi

Laurel wilt disease (LWD) is caused by a fungus Raffaelea lauricola T.C. Harr., Fraedrich & Aghayeva (Ophiostomatales: Ophiostomataceae) that is primarily vectored by redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). This vector-disease complex, native to Asia, is one of the most damaging non-native forest pests in the United States and poses threats to both agricultural and forest ecosystems. We use modern statistical techniques to analyze county-level invasion data, quantifying landscape-level patterns of spread by LWD and identifying county-level drivers of invasion. A main goal of this project is to quantify the frequency and length of long-distance jump events made by LWD and elucidate the relative contributions of habitat characteristics (e.g., host tree abundance) vs. invasion pathway variables (e.g., human population density) to invasion dynamics. We hope this work will help identify the counties with the highest risk of invasion and provide estimates for county-level arrival dates, helping municipalities and forest health specialists budget for potential arrival, determine survey intensities, and identify priority areas for monitoring.