Laurel J. Haavik

• Ph.D.
• Publications Team Lead at USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station

Severe droughts have the potential to reduce forest productivity and trigger tree mortality. Most trees face several drought events during their life and therefore resilience to dry conditions may be crucial to long-term survival. We assessed how growth resilience to severe droughts, including its components resistance and recovery, is related to t...

1. Competition and predation are important components of biotic resistance, which helps define the invasibility of an ecosystem. 2. To search for evidence of biotic resistance to the European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio Fabricius, in North America, cages were used to experimentally exclude the community of associates (natural enemies and competitors)...

The emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) invasion of North America has increased interest in ash (Fraxinus, Oleaceae) phylogeny, ecology, and physiology. In a common garden in central Ohio, we compared the performance of three North American ash cultivars that are highly susceptible to EAB (F. pennsylvanica ‘Patmore,’ F. american...

Population density is often a critical factor in colonisation of trees by bark and wood-boring insects and may determine whether an exotic species is likely to establish and spread. In a manipulative field study, we investigated whether density of the attacking population of an exotic invasive woodwasp, Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Sirici...

Tree mortality is a key driver of forest dynamics and its occurrence is projected to increase in the future due to climate change. Despite recent advances in our understanding of the physiological mechanisms leading to death, we still lack robust indicators of mortality risk that could be applied at the individual tree scale. Here, we build on a pr...

More than a decade after its discovery in North America, the European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), has not been an aggressive tree killer in northeastern North American pine ( Pinus Linnaeus; Pinaceae) forests. Concern that S. noctilio has potential to become a more aggressive pest as it spreads south, or as environm...

The European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio F., is a pest of pines in many areas around the world. Since its introduction to North America, the distribution of S. noctilio overlaps with a known host (Pinus sylvestris) and hosts native to North America. Direct comparisons of suitability for oviposition and larval survival among these pines have not been m...

Data collected from each log sample. Data includes number of Sirex noctilio eggs oviposited by females in the parent generation (estimate; see text for details), and number of adult S. noctilio in the F2 generation. (DOCX)

The invasive woodwasp Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) has been moved from Eurasia into regions in the Southern Hemisphere, where extensive tree mortality has occurred in pines (Pinus spp.) introduced for forestry. More recently this woodwasp was found in northeastern North America, where pines are native, and it is a species of concern due...

Tree mortality is a key factor influencing forest functions and dynamics, but our understanding of the mechanisms leading to mortality and the associated changes in tree growth rates are still limited. We compiled a new pan-continental tree-ring width database from sites where both dead and living trees were sampled (2,970 dead and 4,224 living tre...

Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) is a woodwasp of pine trees that has recently invaded and established in North American forests. Although S. noctilio has had a limited impact in North America to date, there is some concern that it could have a significant impact on pine plantations, especially in the southeastern U.S.A. Moreover, there a...

Natural controls may not be effective in limiting non‐native species that invade a new environment. Alternatively, factors present in the new environment can prevent an invader from becoming a serious pest. We investigated whether existing natural enemies or the availability of susceptible and suitable host plants limited an established, non‐native...

The establishment and spread of Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), in northeastern North America necessitates reliable monitoring methods for this alien woodwasp pest of Pinus . The native congener, Sirex nigricornis F., is common across the eastern U.S.A. and has been studied as a proxy for S. noctilio . Predicting the emergence of S. noc...

A nonnative woodwasp, Sirex noctilio F., has established in pine forests in eastern North America. To facilitate prediction of the full range of impacts S. noctilio could have as it continues to spread in North American forest ecosystems, we studied the effects of infection by a nonsterilizing parasitic nematode on S. noctilio size, fecundity, and...

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 n...

Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) is an introduced pest of pines (Pinus spp.) in several countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Although S. noctilio is established in North America (first discovered in 2004), it has not been a destructive pest there so far, where forest communities more closely resemble those in its native Eurasian range—wh...

1 Newly-established populations of invasive wood-inhabiting insects provide an opportunity for the study of invasion dynamics and for collecting information to improve management options for these cryptic species. 2 From 2011 to 2013, we studied the dynamics of the goldspotted oak borer Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), a ne...

This is a conference abstract. A full text is not currently available. Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) is a worldwide pest of pine. Although not a pest in its native Eurasian range, S. noctilio has caused extensive damage to exotic pine monocultures in the Southern Hemisphere. North America differs from many other areas where S....

Current detection tools for Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) in North America are poor. To determine the importance of intercept trap type for capturing females of S. noctilio and its native congener, Sirex nigricornis F., in eastern North America, we report on seven trap comparison studies from different years and geographic locations. A...

It was unknown whether twolined chestnut borer, Agrilus bilineatus (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), a common secondary agent of tree decline in eastern US oak forests, contributed to tree mortality during a recent (1999–2003) episode of oak decline in the Ozark Mountains. Adult beetle flight was monitored by trapping in 2001, 2003, and 2004 and oak branc...

The straw itch mite, Pyemotes tritici Lagrèze-Fossat and Montané (Acari: Pyemotidae), was discovered parasitising the goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), an invasive exotic species to California, United States of America, and the Mexican goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus coxalis Waterhouse (Coleoptera: Bupr...

We investigated within-tree population density of a new invasive species in southern California, the goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), with respect to host species and the community of other borers present. We measured emergence hole densities of A. auroguttatus and other borers on the lower stem (bole...

Upland oak-hickory forests in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma experienced oak decline in the late 1990s and early 2000s during an unprecedented outbreak of a native beetle, the red oak borer (ROB), Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman). Although remote sensing supports fre-quent monitoring of continuously changing forests, comparable in situ observations...

Goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a new invasive species in southern California, USA. The extent of the host range of this insect is not known, but this knowledge will have a major impact on assessment of the risks that this pest poses to oaks [Quercus spp. (Fagaceae)]. We conducted laboratory tests...

The study of temporal interactions between native insects and alien invaders can be facilitated by the ability to forecast adult emergence. We used field-collected adult emergence data of Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), a woodwasp native of Eurasia that has recently invaded north-eastern North America, and Sirex nigricornis Fabri...

An unexpected outbreak of a native longhorned beetle, the red oak borer (Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman)), occurred in upland oak forests of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma ca. 1999–2005. Few management tools exist for reducing E. rufulus populations. Laboratory bioassays were conducted to determine susceptibility of all E. rufulus life stages to th...

We investigated seasonal development of the goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), and physical conditions of the phloem within a preferred host species, coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia Nee. We sampled infested trees on a monthly basis at two sites in southern California throughout 2011. Measurements of a...

We used life table analyses to investigate age specific mortality and to better understand the population dynamics of the red oak borer, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). We continually sampled populations within 177 trees at primarily two sites in the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas throughout three (2-yr) generations. T...

In recent decades, invasive phloem and wood borers have become important pests in North America. To aid tree sampling and survey efforts for the newly introduced goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), we examined spatial patterns of exit holes on the boles (trunks) of 58 coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia Né...

Oak-hickory forests in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas recently experienced an episode of oak mortality in concert with an outbreak of the red oak borer (Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)). We utilized data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service to explore changes in perc...

Nous avons analysé le contenu en azote (N) du phloème et du xylème de 75 chênes rouges boréaux, Quercus rubra L. (Fagaceae), prélevés en 2002–2007 dans trois sites de la forêt nationale d'Ozark, Arkansas, afin d'examiner la relation entre le N du tissu vasculaire et l'infestation par les insectes mineurs du bois. Durant la période d'échantillonnage...

Extreme climate events are frequently important factors associated with episodes of forest decline. A recent oak decline event and concurrent outbreak of a native wood-boring beetle, the red oak borer (Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman)), occurred throughout Arkansas Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. To investigate the role of drought and stand maturity on...

1 The mechanisms by which hardwood trees resist invasion by native wood borers are still poorly understood. 2 We examined the importance of several host, herbivore and environmental variables in relation to Quercus rubra L., northern red oak, resistance to a native cerambycid, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), the red oak b...

We used dendrochronological techniques to develop an optimal sampling strategy for the purpose of investigating the history of red oak borer (Enaphalodes rufulus [Haldeman]) population patterns within northern red oaks (Quercus rubra L.). We cut the entire length of three northern red oak tree boles into cross-sections, sanded top and bottom surfac...

1. Tree-ring techniques were used to date larval gallery scars of a native wood borer, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman), in host Quercus rubra L. from eight sites within the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests of Arkansas. 2. Borer densities were quantified throughout the past century as indicated by scars within host tree boles and per capita rate o...

Many oak decline events have been reported within the past century in the eastern U.S., and important causal factors often differ among them. Coincident with a recent decline event in upland oak-dominant forests of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma was an unexpected outbreak of a native cerambycid beetle, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman), the red oak...

Epidemic populations of Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman), red oak borer, a native longhorned wood boring beetle, were implicated as a major contributor to a recent widespread oak mortality event in the Ozark National Forest of Arkansas. We assessed potential factors affecting suitability of a primary host Quercus rubra L., northern red oak, which exp...

We selected three red oak borer infested northern red oak with varying heights along a latitudinal gradient throughout the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests in Arkansas. We cut the entire length of each tree bole into cross-sections ~5 cm thick, sanded top and bottom surfaces and dated all scars to the year of adult emergence within each bole. Cu...

Oak-dominated forests in northwestern Arkansas have recently experienced an oak mortality event associated with an unprecedented outbreak of a native insect, the red oak borer, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman). To determine whether prior drought was associated with increased E. rufulus infestation level of Quercus rubra L. trees, we employed a suite...

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) forest in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, have been known to have periodic defoliation due to western spruce budworm (WSB) (Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman) outbreaks. Insect defoliators cause a reduction in annual growth during an outbreak and these reductions are visible in...