Canadian Forest Service Publications
Horizontal transmission of a parasitic nematode from a non-native to a native woodwasp. 2016. Haavik, L.J.;Yu, Q.; Turgeon, J.J.; Allison, J.D. Biological Invasions 4 p.
Year: 2016
Issued by: Great Lakes Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 36512
Language: English
Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)
Available from the Journal's Web site. †
DOI: 10.1007/s10530-015-1030-0
† This site may require a fee
Abstract
In eastern North America, the exotic invasive woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, attacks pines (Pinus spp.) and often shares larval habitat with the native woodwasp, Sirex nigricornis. The parasitic nematode, Deladenus siricidicola, has been used widely in the southern hemisphere as a biological control agent because it sterilizes female S. noctilio. This nematode was introduced accidentally to North America along with S. noctilio. Historical reports indicate nematode-woodwasp fidelity: the parasitic nematode, D. siricidicola, exclusively infects S. noctilio, and the native nematode, Deladenus proximus, exclusively infects S. nigricorni_s. From two sites in southern Ontario, separated by 225 km, we collected woodwasps from three_Pinus sylvestris, and identified the nematode species present in the abdomens of infected wasps. Both wasp species co-occurred in all three trees. D. siricidicola was present in the haemocoel, but not inside the eggs, of infected S. noctilio and S. nigricornis. This evidence suggests horizontal transmission of D. siricidicola likely occurred from S. noctilio to S. nigricornis.
Plain Language Summary
In eastern North America, the exotic invasive woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, attacks pines (Pinus spp.) and often shares larval habitat with the native woodwasp, S. nigricornis. The parasitic nematode, Deladenus siricidicol, has been used widely in the southern hemisphere as a biological control agent because it sterilizes female S. noctilio. This nematode was introduced accidentally to North America along with S. noctilio. Previous reports suggest nematode-woodwasp fidelity: the parasitic nematode, Deladenus siricidicola, exclusively infects S. noctilio, and the native nematode, D. proximus, exclusively infects S. nigricornis. From two sites in southern Ontario, separated by 225 km, we collected woodwasps from three Pinus sylvestris, and identified the nematode species present in the abdomens of infected wasps. Both wasp species co-occurred in all three trees. Deladenus siricidicola was present in the haemocoel, but not inside the eggs, of infected S. noctilio and S. nigricornis. This evidence suggests horizontal transmission of D. siricidicola likely occurred from S. noctilio to S. nigricornis.
