Modelling Eastern Spread Risk of Mountain Pine Beetle Using Host Genetic Ancestry
The research will consider the host genetic ancestry of jack pine and the probability of eastern spread of the MPB. Mounting evidence indicates that that jack pine is an equivalent host for MPB in comparison to lodgepole pine.
Objectives
- Use all existing genotype data to develop an updated predictive surface of pine ancestry for Alberta
- Ground-truth the predicted pine ancestry by sampling and genotyping pine samples in locations (~10 locations, 20 individuals in each location) where there are strong transitions in ancestry
- Develop a spatial model that examines the relationship between MPB incidence data and pine-host genetic ancestry addressing the complementary hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: Jack pine represents a sink population for MPB
Hypothesis 2: Pine genetic ancestry does not influence eastern MPB range expansion
This 2-page briefing note introduces a project that uses landscape genetics to predict, validate, and use pine ancestry in Alberta […]
Dr. Catherine Cullingham
Dr. Rhiannon Peery
Jessica Duffy