Collaborative Research: Herbivore interactions and plant responses: from foliar chemistry to communities

该项目旨在了解两种入侵害虫，羊毛蚜和铁杉鳞片，如何影响东部铁杉树。毛茸茸的蚜虫已经摧毁了北美东海岸的整个铁杉森林，但铁杉鳞片——同样常见——的影响微乎其微。虽然常识告诉我们两种害虫比一种更糟糕，但研究表明情况恰恰相反。有趣的是，长鳞片侵扰的树木似乎在某种程度上免受蚜虫的侵害。了解为什么会发生这种情况，以及“接种”一种害虫是否可以保护树木免受另一种害虫的侵害，需要了解树木如何保护自己并对攻击做出反应。科学家们在一个项目上进行了合作，该项目将实验和数学模型相结合，以开发植物对森林害虫反应的“路线图”。具体来说，他们将评估每种害虫如何影响植物防御和养分储存。鉴于多种害虫造成的经济和生态损失，详细了解森林如何受到多种害虫的影响（以及可能受到的保护）是非常重要的。通过确定响应途径，本研究结果可应用于其他系统，以预测多种草食动物对森林健康的可能影响。该项目还为城市学童提供了一个了解附近森林的机会。研究人员已经与SMILE（科学和数学研究性学习经验）建立了伙伴关系，SMILE是一个当地的组织，为表现不佳的学区的儿童提供丰富的活动。研究生和SMILE工作人员将与教师一起开发和实施一个为期一年的关于森林和食物网的教育模块。该奖项提供的资金将用于支付当地森林的实地考察，以帮助学生了解这些系统，并调查铁杉的入侵害虫的存在。

This project seeks to understand how two invasive insect pests, the woolly adelgid and the hemlock scale, affect eastern hemlock trees. The woolly adelgid has devastated entire forests of hemlock along the east coast of North America, but the hemlock scale -- which is just as common -- has had minimal impact. Although common sense indicates that two pests are worse than one, research suggests the opposite. Intriguingly, trees infested with elongate scale seem somehow protected from the adelgid. Understanding why this happens and whether 'inoculation' with one pest might protect the tree from another type of pest requires understanding how trees defend themselves and respond to attack. Researchers have teamed up on a project that uses a combination of experiments and mathematical models to develop a 'road map' of plant responses to forest pests. Specifically, they will assess how each pest affects plant defenses and nutrient storage.Given the economic and ecological losses caused by many species of insect pests, it is tremendously important to develop a detailed understanding of how forests are impacted by (and might be protected from) multiple pests. By identifying the response pathway, the results of this study can be applied to other systems to predict the likely impact of multiple herbivores on forest health. This project also provides an opportunity for urban schoolchildren to learn more about nearby forests. The researchers have developed a partnership with SMILE (Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences), a locally-based group that offers enrichment activities to children from poorly-performing school districts. Graduate students and SMILE staff will work with teachers to develop and implement a year-long educational module on forests and food webs. Funding provided by this award will be used to pay for field trips to local forests to help students learn about these systems and survey hemlocks for the presence of invasive pests.