No evidence for pronounced mate-finding Allee effects in the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire)

By

Caouette, Alexandre Philip
Rutledge, Claire
Heard, Stephen
Pureswaran, Deepa

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

NeoBiota : advancing research on alien species and biological invasions

Volume

95

Pages

165--179

Subjects

Allee effects , emerald ash borer , Invasion biology , invasion dynamics , mating success , Population ecology

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sophia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.95.127287

 

Abstract

Allee effects are density-dependent barriers that can impact species establishment and population growth, such as through reduced mating success at low population densities. The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, has been extremely successful at rapidly expanding its North American range. The impact of mate-finding Allee effects (an important type of component Allee effect) early in the invasion period of the emerald ash borer remains unknown. We measured mating success in females as a function of beetle abundance in Halifax, Canada, where the emerald ash borer was recently discovered, and in Connecticut USA, where it has been established for over a decade. We measured relative population abundance and sampled beetles using different strategies. In Halifax, we placed clusters of prism traps along an invasion gradient of emerald ash borer abundance, and in Connecticut, we collected beetles from foraging Cerceris fumipennis females. We dissected female reproductive tracts to measure mating success. We fit a linear regression to the mating success of females as a function of beetle abundance. We found that emerald ash borer did not present a pronounced mate-finding Allee effect as there was no positive relationship between female mating success and abundance. Lack of pronounced component Allee effects that impede population growth may explain rapid range expansion in species that are highly invasive, such as the emerald ash borer.