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Initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) in indigenous Afrotemperate forests

Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2021.

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Other Authors: De Beer, Z. Wilhelm
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2021
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 De Beer, Z. Wilhelm
author_browse De Beer, Z. Wilhelm
author_facet De Beer, Z. Wilhelm
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2021.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:17.390Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/79933 Initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) in indigenous Afrotemperate forests De Beer, Z. Wilhelm garyndelport123@gmail.com Hill, Martin Roets, Francois Townsend, Garyn UCTD Microbiology Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2021. The polyphagous shot hole borer or PSHB (Euwallacea fornicatus) is an invasive ambrosia beetle native to Southeast Asia. In 2017 it was discovered in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, where it was found attacking several ornamental tree species, and has since spread into eight of the nine provinces in the country. It has also started moving into indigenous forests of the southern Cape attacking native trees. However, as the beetle is known to attack a wide variety of trees, with varying levels of damage to different species, its impact in native forests cannot be predicted. This study aimed to establish long–term monitoring plots to gain insight into the distribution, host range and potential ecological impacts of PSHB in indigenous Afrotemperate forests in the Southern Cape. We aimed to monitor which species of indigenous trees are attacked by PSHB, which species are potential reproductive hosts and what makes some forest patches more prone to attack than others. Our results showed that PSHB is spreading into natural Afrotemperate forest patches throughout the Southern Cape area. Although the spread appears to be slow, this may be the beginning stages of the invasion as a consistent increase in the number of attacked and infected trees was seen over the one–year monitoring period. Many indigenous tree species were identified as hosts, and preliminary phylogenetic analyses showed that there may be some family level relationships between preferred hosts. The beetle appears to select certain tree species, and it was able to reproduce in almost half of all the host trees it attacked. The high number of potential reproductive hosts could allow the beetle to rapidly establish and spread through natural forest areas. Natural forests close to urban trees are more at risk of attack as many ornamental trees planted in towns and cities are susceptible to PSHB attack and act as reservoirs for the beetle, allowing the population to increase rapidly and spill over into natural areas. Forest patches with a high species richness had a lower mean number of infected trees, likely due to the lower number of potential hosts available to the beetle. In patches where the number of potential host trees was high, there was an increased number of PSHB attacks. The data also suggest that trees with a larger diameter, that are likely more easily located, and trees that are already under stress or in poor health, are targeted by PSHB. The PSHB beetle poses a major risk to natural forest health, not only in Afrotemperate forests, but to native forests throughout Africa. Control options for the beetle are limited and expensive. However, this study was only a preliminary investigation of the impacts PSHB is having in Afrotemperate forests. Long term monitoring over a larger area is imperative if the true impacts of PSHB are to be quantified, and to better understand its behavior, host range and the eventual fate of attacked trees. Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) Microbiology and Plant Pathology MSc Unrestricted 2021-05-18T07:55:21Z 2021-05-18T07:55:21Z 2021-09-01 2021-04 Dissertation * S2021 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79933 en © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Microbiology
Initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) in indigenous Afrotemperate forests
title Initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) in indigenous Afrotemperate forests
title_full Initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) in indigenous Afrotemperate forests
title_fullStr Initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) in indigenous Afrotemperate forests
title_full_unstemmed Initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) in indigenous Afrotemperate forests
title_short Initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) in indigenous Afrotemperate forests
title_sort initial assessment of the polyphagous shot hole borer pshb in indigenous afrotemperate forests
topic UCTD
Microbiology
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79933