Chestnut Bark Disease

Another highly analyzed theory is the “Epidemic Diseases Theory”. This theory postulates that widespread disease crippled the region and led to rapid depopulation, although there is speculation about the exact type of disease. James Brewbaker believes that the disease originated from the corn in the lowland regions of the area. In his article in Economic Botany, he writes, ”the maize mosaic virus (MMV), is proposed as the contributing cause of the collapse” . This is a devastating virus that is transmitted from insects of the tropic lowlands into the corn. It is fairly conclusive that the insects of the region spread this illness, although the exact disease is not known. They

5. What species is the intended host for the Baylisascaris nematode and what symptoms does it cause in this host?

The ancient forests of the Northeast aren’t the only aspect of the bioregion that’s fate have been at perpetual risk since the early settlement of Europeans. There is no question that forests still dominate the landscape of Northeastern region accounting for “60% of the total land area, and in New England alone, the coverage is 80%”. Still the species that exist within the understory of the forests have undergone an equally dramatic transformation because of human interaction with the land and the harvest of its resources. Some species in the understory of the mixed forests of the Northeast have been driven out of the region, are under intense ecological pressure, are on the brink of extinction, or have already gone extinct in the region. Perhaps one of the most harmful and impactful effects colonization of the Northeast has had on the resources of the land is the introduction of non-native species and diseases into the region. Over time the overall makeup of the forests have changed drastically as an example, “…the American chestnut once made up as much as 25% of the trees in some areas and was economically the most important hardwood in the Eastern forests”. The introduction of chestnut blight at the turn of the century accounts for

Laurel Wilt Disease is a scourge here in Florida. The disease affects laurel trees all over the Southeast, with the most notable victim being avocado trees. The beetles also effect sassafras trees, pond spice trees, and swamp bays. The main cause of this disease is a fungus known as Raffaelea Lauricola that is transmitted through a beetle called the red bay ambrosia beetle (Persea Borbonia). Neither of these species are native to the area. It was brought over to the states through wooden shipping containers that had contained the beetle insect. The insect and disease came from countries like India, Japan, Myanmar, and Taiwan. The disease works by having the beetle come into the country, hiding in the wooden crates. Once in America, the beetle enters into the environment and seeks trees to bore into for food and shelter. The beetles contain spores that containing the fungus that kills the host tree. The fungus then grows in the sapwood of the tree, restricting the flow of food, sap, and nutrients around the tree. This results in die back and eventually, a dead tree. The disease is known to highly effect the avocado industry and the natural forests in Florida. Currently, 61 out of 67 counties in Florida contain reports of Laurel Wilt Disease as of 2015. That is an enormous 91%.

The Black Death, which originated in China, spread throughout most of the known world, killing many of its victims. More specifically, the Black Death spread throughout Asia, the Middle East, Europe and finally Northern Africa. The black rat flea, which contained the Black Death’s bacteria, spread quickly throughout Europe because of peoples disregard for personal hygiene. The disease, Yersinia pestis, is found in the stomach of the flea. Usually harmless, the bacteria went through a mutation and started to grow, eventually blocking the flea’s stomach passage. When the flea tried to bite an animal or human for food, the bacteria was regurgitated into the wound, infecting the organism bitten.

This was the best entomological lesson I ever had-a lesson whose influence has extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the professor has left to me, as he has left it to many others, of inestimable value, which we could not buy, with which we cannot

Steyskal, G. C., Murphy, W. L., & Hoover, E. M. (1986). Insects and mites: techniques for collection and preservation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural research.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), is a plant native to Europe, Eastern Australia, Asia and Northern Africa. Through history, this plant has been used as a medical herb for the treatment of dysentery, bleeding, wounds, ulcers and sores. The introduction of the Purple Loosestrife, through shipping, has caused disruption of waterflow and the crowding out of native species. Each individual Loosestrife plant can produce up to 2.7 millions seeds , this has helped it overtake native species, such as the cattail. Very costly and difficult to remove, Purple Loosestrife numbers show no sign of decreasing. The Water Chestnut (Trapa natans L.), is an aquatic plant species native to Europe. Introduced much like the Purple Loosestrife, the Water Chestnut is a plant that thrives in shallow depths of rivers and lakes, but can spread to deeper waters. Due to the coverage and over population of the Water Chestnuts, navigation, livable habitat and recreational activities are all affected by the plant. The beds of Water Chestnut also provide a perfect breeding ground for

The MPB can inflict extensive damage to a pine forest when optimum factors of growth are met. The first of three main factors is, an overabundance of mature trees. The MPB will only bore into large diameter trees which are more prevalent since fire suppression has become a primary practice for forest management. Eliminating fires also provides a large quantity of host sites. Tree density is detrimental to forest health because interspecies competition for resources induces stress which makes more pines vulnerable to MPB attack. The final factor that has made the MPB such a

The disease was first noted in 1786 by Caleb Hillier Parry 1755- 1822, physician from General Hospital, Bath, England. His account was published posthumously in 1825.

The eggs of the Borer areapproximately 1 mm long and .06mm in diameter, they are slightly wider in the middle than on eitherend and they are cream colored or a light yellow. The larvae are slightly flattened and crème coloredwith a 10 segmented body, the first 8 segments have Spiracles and they have brown pinchers at the end.To identify trees with potential Borers look for some tell-tale signs such as vertical splits in the bark andD-shaped exit holes and these holes can be found in any part of the trunk and in large branches.Theinternational community has come together to enforce restrictions on use of solid wood packaging fromChina. In The U.S. Harvesting and transportation of infected wood is strictly regulated and may requirekiln drying or chemical treatment before being allowed to be

The battle lines had been drawn and it had been around for about two years before its first outbreak was witnessed on April 23, 2010 on the coast of New South Wales. The march then continued to the next targets- Victoria and Queensland. Over the course of three years, it has become one of the biggest biosecurity threats to Australia’s ecosystem. This alien intruder is commonly known as Myrtle Rust.

Are your evergreen branches brown on the end? Or have you seen new, yellow needles? This tree fungus may be hurting your trees.

This paper was about the bidirectional anatomical effects of mistletoe-host the sweet gum tree (L. styraciflua) and the Mexican royal oak (Q. germana). The main reason that the researchers wanted to do this study was because while multiple studies have been completed on how a parasite effects the host little has been done to study the effect of the host on the parasite. The researchers used standard techniques for light and transmission electron microscopes to study the effect of mistletoe on the sweet gum tree and the Mexican royal oak and vice versa. The key results for this paper were as follows, the

How the disease was transmitted was further looked on by Nelson (1995). According to the said author, the disease was transmitted primarily by fleas and rats. The stomachs of the fleas were infected with bacteria known Y. Pestis. Nelson held that “the bacteria would block the "throat" of infected fleas so that no blood could reach their stomachs, and they grew ravenous since they were starving to death” (1995, par. 14). The bacteria would then attempt to suck up blood from their victims, only to disgorge it back into their preys' bloodstreams (Nelson, 1995). Now, however, the victims' blood was mixed with Y. Pestis. Fleas infected rats in this fashion, and the rats spread the disease to other rats and fleas before dying (Nelson, 1995). Without rodent hosts, the fleas then migrated to the bodies of humans and infected them in the same fashion as they had the rats .