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Home » TennesseeToday

TennesseeToday

Simberloff in Wired and Slate

September 12, 2016 by armsworth

Prof. Dan Simberloff appeared in articles in both Wired and Slate in August.

Wired featured Simberloff in a story about human control over species population size.  Tennessee Today also posted a synopsis of Simberloff’s contributions to the article.

Slate featured Simberloff in a debate about whether biocontrol is a better alternative to pesticides. Tennessee Today summarized Simberloff’s contributions to the article.

 

Filed Under: MAIN, popular media, Simberloff, slate, TennesseeToday

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Press Release

February 22, 2016 by armsworth

FIRST REPORT OF HEMLOCK WOOLLY ADELGID EGGS HATCHING IN EARLY WINTER, POSSIBLY LINKED TO CLIMATE WARMING

(View the related Tennessee Today press release.)

Newly discovered much earlier reproduction of this forest pest may explain why it is invasive, reveal why control has failed, and impede future control.

HWA Infestation

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) infestation on the underside of an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) branch in Knox County, Tennessee.

A sap-feeding insect native to Asia, the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) or HWA was first found in 1951 in eastern North America, where it has since devastated native hemlock populations. HWA does not kill hemlocks in its native range, and why it devastates hemlocks in eastern North America has not been determined.

Like its aphid relatives, HWA has a complex life cycle. Reproduction alternates through several sexual and asexual generations. Each generation is made up of a variety of life forms. Completing two generations each year on hemlock, adults lay eggs that hatch from March through June, then develop though four stages before they mature and lay eggs that hatch from May through July. Until now, scientists documented HWA eggs hatching only from March through July.

HWA Crawlers

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) 1st instar nymphs, called “crawlers,” emerging from a “woolly” mass where an adult female lays eggs inside.

The newly documented activity occurred in eastern Tennessee during and after record high temperatures, attributed to global climate change and El Niño conditions, where December’s average mean was 53°F with 14 days at least 65°F. Although not proven to be the reason for this newly documented HWA activity, temperature likely contributed in some way. Temperature influences the rate of insect development, distribution, and abundance.  Higher temperatures shorten life cycle stages, sometimes increasing the number of generations each year. More generations create more offspring and may increase insect populations. Alternatively, insect populations may crash when put out of sync with their hosts or when they develop new interactions preventing their survival.

HWA Eggs

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) eggs revealed inside “woolly” mass.

When University of Tennessee researchers Christy Leppanen and Daniel Simberloff discovered eggs hatching in December, they followed populations and determined that this winter’s HWA populations reproduced earlier and more quickly than previously documented.

Reproduction outside of recognized cycles can counteract management because control relies on accurate predictions of pest reproduction, knowing what life stages are present when, so they can be targeted at the most effective times. We are caught by surprise when pests break the rules.

“We visit only a few locations out of the introduced range that extends from Georgia to Maine and couldn’t have been so lucky to happen across the first instance of early winter reproduction,” Leppanen said. “This likely occurred before, possibly increasing populations at times or in numbers that overwhelmed existing population controls, including beetles deliberately introduced to eat them, and contributed to HWA’s escalation from ‘introduced’ to ‘invasive’ in the East.”

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) 1st instar nymphs implanted to feed at the base of eastern hemlock needles.

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) 1st instar nymphs implanted to feed at the base of eastern hemlock needles.

Events like this challenge current HWA control focused on matching natural enemies like the introduced beetles with HWA population cycles. Control using natural enemies has not yet proven successful, possibly because HWA reproduction has not been sufficiently synchronized with enemies able to respond in time, place, and densities necessary to reduce HWA populations. And while earlier reproduction that occurs regularly is predictable, reproduction on the fly in response to changing conditions, such as temperature fluctuations, is difficult to anticipate. So, the frequency and regularity of “extragenerational” reproduction must be understood.

After their discovery, Leppanen sent a mass email to a group of HWA researchers and managers on December 31, 2015, New Year’s Eve. An immediate response came via dozens of “Out of Office” replies. Simberloff asks, “Could similar events in other years have gone unrecorded because HWA life cycles were not synchronized with researcher activity periods?”

Dr. Christy Leppanen is a Postdoctoral Research Associate working in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Simberloff, the Nancy Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Studies, in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee.

Old growth eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) in Knox County, Tennessee.

Old growth eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) in Knox County, Tennessee.

Fresh, vibrant eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) growth in Knox County, Tennessee.

Fresh, vibrant eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) growth in Knox County, Tennessee.

 

 

 

Filed Under: invasive, MAIN, postdoc, Simberloff, TennesseeToday

Playdate with Burghardt (Updated)

October 24, 2014 by armsworth

UPDATE:  The local NPR station, WUOT, aired an interview with Gordon Burghardt on October 24 for the program, Changing Course.  Burghardt discussed play throughout the animal world and his pregame showcase.

Alumni Distinguished Service Professor Gordon Burghardt is known for his research on animal behavior, particularly playing behavior in taxa that are not thought to play. His research on play in cichlid fish has been featured recently in the international press.

This Saturday, Burghardt will be talking about the importance of play at the Pregame Showcase, prior to the football game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.  The showcase will begin at 5:30 p.m., two hours before kickoff, in the Carolyn P. Brown University Center Ballroom (Room 213).  The showcase is free and open to the public, and it features a thirty-minute presentation followed by a fifteen-minute question-and-answer session. A brief reception will be held after the program, and a door prize will be awarded.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Burghardt, MAIN, popular media, TennesseeToday

Simberloff Article Featured in TN Today

August 20, 2014 by armsworth

Dan Simberloff’s critique of the ‘novel ecosystem’ concept, recently published as an opinion piece in TREE, has been featured in Tennessee Today.  Congratulations, Dan!

Filed Under: MAIN, publication, Simberloff, TennesseeToday

E.O. Wilson to receive honorary degree

October 21, 2013 by armsworth

E.O. Wilson will receive an Honorary Degree in Science and Letters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UT’s Spring 2014 Commencement.

Wilson has had a long association with UT.  More information about his connections with UT and his career can be found in the Tennessee Today article below.

http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2013/10/18/ant-expert-sociobiology-founder-receive-honorary-doctorate/?utm_source=tntoday&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2013-10-21

Filed Under: graduation, MAIN, TennesseeToday

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