Population and community ecology of the brown spruce longhorn beetle

随着全球贸易的增加，外来入侵森林昆虫已成为北美森林严重的生态和经济干扰因素。翡翠白蜡虫(原产于远东)和棕色云杉天牛(原产于东欧)是最近在加拿大东部发现的两种杀死树木的昆虫。这些昆虫并不是它们原生范围内的害虫，但由于缺乏监管和允许种群激增的新型生态相互作用，它们在加拿大造成了树木死亡。我的研究调查了杀死树木的昆虫、它们的寄主树木和天敌的生态和行为，目的是了解地方性种群为什么以及如何转变为流行病。

With increasing global trade, invasive alien forest insects have become agents of severe ecological and economic disturbance in North American forests. The emerald ash borer (native to the Far East) and the brown spruce longhorn beetle (native to Eastern Europe) are two examples of tree-killing insects that have recently established in Eastern Canada. These insects are not pests in their native range but cause tree mortality in Canada as a result of novel ecological interactions that lack regulatory controls and permit population explosions. My research investigates the ecology and behaviour of tree-killing insects, their host trees and natural enemies with the goal of understanding why and how endemic populations transition into epidemics.