Turkish Journal of Forestry

1-6

Authors: Serap Mutun

Distribution of genetic variation across a species range is shaped both by historical and contemporary factors such as topographical barriers, presence of diverse micro- and macrohabitats, complex geologic history and past climatic fluctuations. Signatures of the past events and the varied topography can be observed not only in plant taxa but also in the obligate parasites of plants such as oak gall wasps. The mountain barriers in Anatolia running from the southeastern towards the northern part of Turkey is accepted as a major faunistic and floristic belt, and is thought to underlie much of the genetic diversity in the region. Current findings show that complicated geologic history and a variety of mountainous areas have left imprints on the phylogenies and phylogeography of oak gall wasp taxa. Indeed, several oak gall wasp species studied across Turkey revealed the presence of this notorious pattern into west and east division of the genetic variation with respect to the location of the Turkish highlands. A number of published studies on the distribution and the allocation of the genetic diversity of several oak gall wasp species in Anatolia, which is located at the junction of several phytogeographic provinces, express the importance of an apparent genetic break in the examined oak gall wasp species.

11-17

Authors: Hiba Daas, Yasmine Adjami, Rym Ghanem, Amador Viñolas, Mohamed Laid Ouakid, Abdelkrim Tahraoui

Insect fauna is an essential element in the dynamics and functioning of forest ecosystems. The ecological role and bio-indicator status of certain species can indicate the sanitary status of forests and helps identifying factors related to their degradation. Many attacks of pest insects affecting primarily the leaves, the acorns and the trunk of the oak have been reported. Action of some phytophagous Coleoptera (Curculionidae …) is one of the main defoliation causes, the borers weakening the tree, while acorn’s pests have directly impact regeneration. These attacks can weaken cork oak populations and contribute to their decline. An inventory of Coleoptera was conducted to determine the richness, the diversity, and the ecological role of inventoried species. Sampling was conducted in two cork forests in North-Eastern Algeria (El Kala and Souk Ahras) with different techniques used in the field of entomology (visual collecting, pitfall trap, and aerial traps). We identified 100 species of Coleoptera belonging to 25 different families with diversified feeding types (coprophagous, saproxylic, predatory, herbivorous or decomposers). Calculation of ecological indexes allowed situating the different populations in their environment.

23-30

Authors: Sabrina Amraoui, Nadia Bouragba, Ahmed Brague, Jean-Pierre Lumaret

Steppe ecosystems are characterized by significant biological diversity, and this is the result of a long adaptation process to difficult agro-climatic conditions. Feces of large or small herbivorous animals must be destroyed to be recycled. This process is involving the activity of various soil organisms. Among the most active insects are Scarabaeoidea. Our study was conducted in two grazed ecosystems in djelfa pasture, situated in the semi-arid region; the first one is a pinewood forest, located in the Senalba. The second one is an Aleppo pine reforested stand, part of the Green Dam that was launched decades ago to stop desertification. Dung beetles were captured using baited pitfall traps during the period 2009-2010. 1435 beetles belonging to 42 species were trapped. The faunas of senalba and of Moudjbara were compared. The fauna in the reforested stand is poorer than the one of the natural forest. The natural forest might provide favorable microclimatic conditions for some species such as Chironitis furcifer, Aphodius fimetarius and A. felscheanus. Results showed a significant seasonal variation in the composition, and diversity. There were four periods of activity during the course of the year. Temporal turnover was highest in September and in February, Dungs beetle dominate during summer and autumn in Moudjbara while in the Sénalba they dominate during autumn and winter. This study reveals that natural forest is the most suitable habitat to the installation Scarabaeidae unlike reforestation, this could be the result of a limited grazing in the reforested steppe.

40-43

Authors: Kahraman İpekdal, Zeycan Helvacı, Selim Süalp Çağlar

Larvae of the two pine processionary moth (PPM) sister species, Thaumetopoea wilkinsoni and T. pityocampa, causes severe allergies in mammals and are dangerous defoliators of Mediterranean pines. While T. pityocampa occurs mainly in Europe, T. wilkinsoni occurs in Turkey and the Middle East. Recent studies showed that ranges of the two species are in contact in Turkey. Female moths of the two species cover their eggs with scales on their abdomens. These scales are believed to protect eggs from parasitism. Although T. wilkinsoni and T. pityocampa exhibit highly similar morphologies, few studies have suggested that scale morphology could be used for species identification. However, our field observations in Turkey do not confirm this suggestion. Nevertheless, statistical approaches have never been used on this issue. In this study, we aimed at solving this contradiction by digitizing PPM scale shape photographs taken standardly from 60 individuals collected from different locations in Turkey and Cyprus and by subjecting them to geometric morphometry approaches. We conducted shape analysis by using TPS software and Elliptic Fourier Outline Analysis which is a sensitive method for morphometric computations. Results did not reveal any correlation between scale morphology and species taxonomy. This result could be interpreted as an insufficiency of scale morphology being able to be used as a taxonomic character to separate T. wilkinsoni and T. pityocampa in Turkey. However, it should be kept in mind that these two species have a contact zone in Turkey, which might cause hybridization. This phenomenon could completely change morphological patterns. In order to reach more accurate results, this study should be repeated with samples from the entire ranges of the two species.

48-50

Authors: Rym Mkaouar, Samir Dhahri, Mohamed Lahbib Ben Jamaa

The pomegranate butterfly Virachola livia constitutes a severe pest to the pomegranate in Tunisia, since its record in 2006. However, V. livia was found to breed not only in the pomegranate but also in the pods of Acacia farnesiana which is a very common plant in Gabes region (South-East of Tunisia). This study which was carried out in Metwia (the most infested area in Gabes) from April to July 2013, aims to clarify some biological aspects of V. livia on A. farnesiana such as: fly of adults, egg laying, larva development, pupae and number of generation. Randomized samples of green Acacia pods were collected weekly from different trees of A. farnesiana. In the lab, pods were examined under a binocular to detect eggs, after pods were desiccated to count larva stage and pupae. The monitoring of adults activity and emergence were made by experimental apparatus both in the field and the laboratory. The preliminary results show that A. farnesiana is the main and primary host plant of V. livia in South Tunisia. On A. farnesiana this pest develops three annual generations, each one lasts about four weeks. The first generation starts late in April and finished in the end of May. The second one is from the end of May to about the twenty five of the next month; the third is from the last one to the middle of July. Due to the absence of green pods on the tree from July, the butterfly migrates to its alternative host the pomegranate.

58-61

Authors: Sonia Hammami, Olfa Ezzine, Samir Dhahri, Mohamed Lahbib Ben Jamâa

Phytophagous insects may select plants or plant parts not only based upon nutritional content, but also on the intensity of predation and parasitism. This observation leads to the enemy free space hypothesis, which suggests that herbivores select host plants for which the mortality from natural enemies is minimized, by preferring host plants on which the herbivores would be less vulnerable to their natural enemies. In Tunisia, Orgyia trigotephras is a polyphagous moth, bivoltine with a spring (SG) and an autumnal (AG) generation. This work was carried out in two sites: Jebel Abderrahmane (Ftahiz, Delhiza and Guitoun) and Bizerte (Sejnane). The aim is to compare the importance of predation by moth larvae (Coccidiphila rungsella) and parasitism by egg parasitoids (Aprostocetus sp.) on O. trigotephras on two host species, Quercus coccifera and Pistacia lentiscus.

65-70

Authors: Manel Mejri, Edmundo De Sousa, Pedro Naves, Mohamed Lahbib Ben Jamaa

The pine wilt disease, caused by the pine wood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, was detected in Europe in 1999 in Portugal and the longhorn beetle Monochamus galloprovincialis reported as the only vector since 2001. Although not present in northern Africa, it is feared that the PWN may cause significant damage if introduced into the Maghreb region, where several susceptible pine species which can serve as hosts are found, along with insects of the Monochamus genus which can act as vectors. In order to assess the risk of propagation of the wilt disease, we surveyed for the presence of possible vectors of the Monochamus genus in Tunisia, characterizing the distribution and emergence pattern. Studies were carried in nine locations with Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) forests. Sampling for insects was based on the trap tree technique, allowing beetles to lay eggs in the field and subsequently emerging. We confirmed the presence of Monochamus beetles in Tunisia, with only one species detected, M. galloprovincialis, which was widespread in the Aleppo pine forests. Our results show that this specie can develop and emerge from the basal, median and the upper part of the Aleppo pines with similar success. The larval development took nearly one year and adult emergences occurred from May to August during 2012. Results are discussed in view of similar biological studies conducted in other Mediterranean countries and the implications for the risk assessment of pine wilt disease in Tunisia.

76-79

Authors: Mohamed Zamoum, Jean-Claude Martin, Atia Bensidi, Rachid Bahmane

In the reforestations of Pinus halepensis, situated in the Algerian sub-Saharian region, 1 500 hectares were treated by an aerial application against the third and fourth larval stage of the pine processionary moth. The microbiological insecticide used contained Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki 3a 3b. The immediate mortality was evaluated by sampling colonies of caterpillars 7 and 14 days after the application of the treatment, and the delayed mortality was determined firstly for caterpillars after 80 and 100 days in the field and secondly for pupae by collecting and rearing surviving caterpillars to Btk at the end of the larval cycle during the nomadic period. The mortality rate of the caterpillars increased between 7 and 100 days and averaged 93 % in the treated zone. The caterpillars exposed to the treatment were more contaminated by Beauveria bassiana and infested by the larval-pupal parasitoïds Erigorgus femorator Aub. (Hym, Ichneumonidae) and Phryxe caudata Rond. (Dip., Tachninidae). The sex ratio of surviving moths was 1.7 in favour of males which suggests that female caterpillars are more vulnerable to Btk.