Mountain Pine Beetle Research Paper

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The Whitebark Pine Tree and the Mountain Pine Beetle A small beetle can kill a 1,000 year old tree. In recent years, the number of live whitebark pine trees has been declining dramatically. In the past, mountain pine beetle populations have erupted at times, causing widespread adverse effects on whitebark pine trees. A similar type of warming-related outbreak is occuring today. The whitebark pine tree is beneficial in many ways. In response to increased tree mortality, researchers have established some methods of restoration for the whitebark pine. Increasing temperatures due to global warming may be significantly changing the way mountain pine beetles interact with ecologically important whitebark pine trees by enabling the beetles to more …show more content…

long, can destroy pine trees like the whitebark pine. Mountain pine beetles may be more inclined to invade trees that are already weak. For example, a tree affected with a pathogen called white pine blister rust is probably going to favored by a beetle over a healthy tree. After selecting a tree to invade, a mountain pine beetle bores into the tree. Depending on the climate at that tree's location, it may take one, two, or more years to complete its life cycle and lay eggs in the tree. Mountain pine beetles are dependent on temperature because they must emerge from the tree late enough in the early summer that they do not freeze, but lay their eggs early enough in the summer that the eggs have ample time to develop before winter comes (Logan and Powell 2001). This shows how mountain pine beetles are dependent on climate. Once the eggs hatch, the new beetles consume the phloem, tissue that transports nutrients from the leaves to the roots. Without the means to transport nutrients to the roots, the tree slowly …show more content…

Grizzly bears find where animals have cached whitebark pine seeds and then consume the seeds (Logan and Powell 2001). The seeds of the whitebark pine make up a large part of a grizzly bear's diet during the fat build-up period before hibernation (Logan and Powell 2001). The availability of seeds keep grizzlies away from humans; for instance, one study showed that, in general, during years in which whitebark pine seeds were not plentiful, many more grizzly-human encounters occurred (Mattson, Blanchard, and Knight 1992). When grizzly bears cannot find enough food at high elevations, they search lower elevations for food, which often brings them closer to people and their property. Shortage of whitebark pine seeds due to high tree mortality could create an increase in human-bear

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