Genetic heterogeneity in a cyclical forest pest, the southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis, is differentiated into east and west groups in the southeastern United States.

The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is an economically important pest species throughout the southeastern United States, Arizona, Mexico, and Central America. Previous research identified population structure among widely distant locations, yet failed to detect population structure among national forests in the state of Mississippi. This study uses microsatellite variation throughout the southeastern United States to compare the southern pine beetle's pattern of population structure to phylogeographic patterns in the region, and to provide information about dispersal. Bayesian clustering identified east and west genetic groups spanning multiple states. The east group had lower heterozygosity, possibly indicating greater habitat fragmentation or a more recent colonization. Significant genetic differentiation (θ(ST) = 0.01, p < 0.0001) followed an isolation-by-distance pattern (r = 0.39, p < 0.001) among samples, and a hierarchical AMOVA indicated slightly more differentiation occurred between multi-state groups. The observed population structure matches a previously identified phylogeographic pattern, division of groups along the Appalachian Mountain/Apalachicola River axis. Our results indicate that the species likely occurs as a large, stable metapopulation with considerable gene flow among subpopulations. Also, the relatively low magnitude of genetic differentiation among samples suggests that southern pine beetles may respond similarly to management across their range.

Fine-scale genetic population structure of southern pine beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Mississippi forests.

The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman, is the most destructive insect pest of pine forests in the southeastern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Southern pine beetle aggressively attacks pine trees, and when in epidemic stages, they are capable of killing even the most healthy pine trees in a short period of time. Despite the amount of destruction caused by the southern pine beetle and the amount of monetary loss faced by the timber industry and recreation, the population genetics of this species has been limited to comparisons among distant geographic locations. This study investigates the fine-scale genetic population structure of the southern pine beetle in Mississippi. Very little genetic differentiation was observed among samples. Bayesian assignment testing failed to detect multiple groups within all samples; estimates of genetic differentiation and genetic distance were very low in magnitude; and a Mantel test did not reveal a significant relationship between genetic distance and geographic distance. These results suggest that management of the southern pine beetle needs to consider the potential movements of individuals within and among national forests and should be focused on a large scale, at least as big as continuously forested areas and possibly even multiple forests. These results further suggest that removal of beetle-infested trees is important.

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the bark beetle predator Thanasimus dubius F. (Coleoptera: Cleridae) reveals regional genetic differentiation.

The checkered beetle, Thanasimus dubius F., is an important predator of scolytid bark beetles that attack conifers. Relatively few studies exist that have addressed the population genetics of predatory beetles, especially those with potential as biological control agents. This study was conducted to investigate the population genetics of T. dubius across a large part of its range in the eastern United States. A 464-base pair portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I was sequenced for 85 individuals resulting in 60 haplotypes. Analysis of molecular variance was conducted on the resulting haplotypes for all populations and as a hierarchical analysis between populations defined as broad-scale northern and southern groups. Results indicate a significant overall Phi ST = 0.220 (P < 0.001) for all populations with the hierarchical analysis revealing that this significant Phi ST is due to structuring of the populations between northern and southern regions (Phi CT = 0.388, P < 0.009). The observed genetic structure is possibly due to the discontinuous distribution of pine trees, which act as hosts for the prey of T. dubius, which has occurred historically in the central region of the United States that has been covered by prairie.