Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 16, 2025
05:30
Technique for Studying Arthropod and Microbial Communities within Tree Tissues
Published on: November 16, 2014
10.6K
Thick bark can protect trees from a severe ambrosia beetle attack
John M Boland1, Deborah L Woodward2
1Boland Ecological Services, San Diego, CA, United States of America.
Peerj
|February 25, 2021
Summary
Thick bark protects Goodding's black willow trees from the invasive Kuroshio Shot Hole Borer (KSHB). Thicker bark limits beetle entry points, reducing damage and improving tree survival rates against ambrosia beetle attacks.
Area of Science:
- Forestry
- Entomology
- Plant Pathology
Background:
- Thick bark is known to protect trees from wildfires.
- The invasive Kuroshio Shot Hole Borer (KSHB) is a significant pest of Goodding's black willow.
- The impact of bark thickness on ambrosia beetle infestation is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between bark thickness and KSHB attack density and damage in Goodding's black willow.
- To determine if bark thickness influences the survival rates of trees attacked by KSHB.
Main Methods:
- Examined KSHB hole distribution in bark samples from 27 infested Goodding's black willow trees.
- Measured bark thickness and quantified KSHB attack densities and damage.
- Analyzed the correlation between bark thickness and KSHB impact.
Main Results:
- KSHB attack densities were significantly higher in thinner bark.
- Thinner-barked trees sustained more internal structural damage from KSHB.
- Bark thickness was positively correlated with tree survival rates.
Conclusions:
- Thick bark serves as a protective mechanism against KSHB infestation by limiting entry points.
- Bark thickness is a critical factor influencing the severity of ambrosia beetle attacks and subsequent host tree mortality.
- This study is the first to link bark thickness to ambrosia beetle density and host tree mortality.
Related Concept Videos
01:50Threats to Biodiversity
25.5K
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
25.5K
02:26Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores
29.0K
Plants present a rich source of nutrients for many organisms, making it a target for herbivores and infectious agents. Plants, though lacking a proper immune system, have developed an array of constitutive and inducible defenses to fend off these attacks.
29.0K
01:19Introduction to Wood
445
Wood, derived from trees, is a versatile and widely used construction material. Trees feature a trunk surrounded by a protective layer of dead bark. Beneath this outer layer lies the living bark, followed by the cambium, and then the sapwood which transitions into heartwood as it matures. At the center of the trunk is the pith. The age of a tree can be discerned by examining its growth rings, which are concentric bands visible in the trunk's cross-section.
The structural integrity of the...
The structural integrity of the...
445
01:57Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
27.2K
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
27.2K