@article{laat_leon_dale_gouveia_carbajal_schiavon_unruh_iannone iii_milla-lewis_2024, title={Molecular analysis of St. Augustinegrass cultivar mixtures composition over time and latitude}, volume={9}, ISSN={["1435-0653"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21370}, DOI={10.1002/csc2.21370}, abstractNote={Abstract St. Augustinegrass [ Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] is commonly planted in residential and commercial landscapes as a cultivar monoculture predisposing this lawn to pest invasion and high‐maintenance inputs. Researchers have suggested that increasing genetic diversity by growing cultivars in mixtures may increase turfgrass stress resilience. However, the stability and uniformity of those mixtures has not been studied. The present study was carried out to evaluate the stability of St. Augustinegrass cultivars mixtures over time and across three latitudes. The study was conducted in Citra and Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Jackson Springs, NC. Simple‐sequence repeats markers were used to genotype leaf samples of St. Augustinegrass cultivars planted in two‐ and four‐cultivar mixtures. Leaf samples were collected 1 and 3 years after establishment. In all locations, cultivar richness and evenness declined over time. Similarly, the relative abundance of the least persistent cultivars decreased approximately 50%–100% depending on cultivar and location. Differences in growth patterns among cultivars resulted in cultivar displacement and the predominance of a single cultivar. Cultivars that covered the ground faster or formed dense canopies early after establishment were dominant at the end of the study. Locally developed cultivars tended to be more dominant in their original latitude. The use of cultivar mixtures may help the identification of vigorous, competitive, and stress tolerant cultivars in turfgrass breeding programs. However, their commercial use remains challenging as if the patterns observed here for 3 years are representative of a continuous trend, and they do not persist over time.}, journal={CROP SCIENCE}, author={Laat, Rocio and Leon, Ramon G. and Dale, Adam G. and Gouveia, Beatriz and Carbajal, Esdras M. and Schiavon, Marco and Unruh, J. Bryan and Iannone III, Basil and Milla-Lewis, Susana R.}, year={2024}, month={Sep} }
 @article{dale_frank_2022, title={Water Availability Determines Tree Growth and Physiological Response to Biotic and Abiotic Stress in a Temperate North American Urban Forest}, volume={13}, ISSN={["1999-4907"]}, url={https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/7/1012}, DOI={10.3390/f13071012}, abstractNote={Warmer temperatures and frequent drought directly affect urban tree health. Both abiotic conditions also affect tree health via increased density of some insect pests. Warming is predicted to benefit urban trees by increasing carbon sequestration and allocation to biomass. However, increased drought and pests are rarely considered despite often co-occurring with heat. To determine the combined effects of these abiotic and biotic factors, we manipulated water availability for established urban red maple trees across a gradient of warming and pest density and measured leaf-level processes and tree growth over two years. We find that water availability is a major determinant of tree growth, physiological processes, and resilience to urban stress factors. Maples performed better with more water, which also made them resistant to effects of temperature and pest density. However, when drought became too severe, leaf-level processes declined with warming. Tree basal area growth was unaffected after two years, but stem elongation increased with increasing water, temperature, and pest density. We discuss potential mechanisms driving these responses and the implications in the context of urban forest management. Urban forest designs that reduce drought and align species adaptations to local conditions are critical for designing more resilient and productive urban forests.}, number={7}, journal={FORESTS}, author={Dale, Adam G. and Frank, Steven D.}, year={2022}, month={Jul} }
 @article{dale_birdsell_sidebottom_2020, title={Evaluating the invasive potential of an exotic scale insect associated with annual Christmas tree harvest and distribution in the southeastern U.S.}, volume={2}, ISSN={["2666-7193"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.tfp.2020.100013}, abstractNote={The movement of invasive species is a global threat to ecosystems and economies. Scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) are particularly well-suited to avoid detection, invade new habitats, and escape control efforts. In countries that celebrate Christmas, the annual movement of Christmas trees has in at least one instance been associated with the invasion of a scale insect pest and subsequent devastation of indigenous forest species. In the eastern United States, except for Florida, Fiorinia externa is a well-established exotic scale insect pest of keystone hemlock species and Fraser fir Christmas trees. Annually, several hundred thousand Fraser firs are harvested and shipped into Florida, USA for sale to homeowners and businesses. There is concern that this insect may disperse from Christmas trees and establish on Florida conifers of economic and conservation interest. Here, we investigate the invasive potential of F. externa on sixteen conifer species by quantifying the reproductive potential of this insect pest and its ability to establish, reproduce, and damage these plants. We find that small amounts of heavily infested Fraser fir plant material can release several hundred juvenile F. externa for over a month. Similar to other case studies, we find evidence that host susceptibility may in part be linked to phylogenetic relatedness. Encouragingly, only six of sixteen species evaluated were susceptible to attack. Our results provide new insights into methodology for evaluating scale insect dispersal and host susceptibility. We also provide guidance for future studies investigating scale insect reproduction, dispersal, and risk for plant species of unknown susceptibility to other exotic insect pests.}, journal={TREES FORESTS AND PEOPLE}, author={Dale, Adam G. and Birdsell, Travis and Sidebottom, Jill}, year={2020}, month={Dec} }
 @article{just_dale_frank_2020, title={Gloomy Scale (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) Ecology and Management on Landscape Trees}, volume={11}, ISSN={["2155-7470"]}, DOI={10.1093/jipm/pmaa028}, abstractNote={AbstractGloomy scale, Melanaspis tenebricosa (Comstock), is native to the eastern United States and feeds on deciduous trees. In natural areas, it is a background herbivore that typically remains at low densities. Gloomy scale generally responds positively to warming with greater egg production, size, survival, and abundance. In urban areas, which are warmer than surrounding natural areas, gloomy scale is pestiferous on planted trees, particularly red maple (Acer rubrum L.; Sapindales: Sapindaceae) but other native maples as well. They live on the bark and damage host trees by feeding from plant cells and tissues, which deprives the trees of energy and nutrients, reducing the trees’ growth and overall health. Gloomy scales are likely to expand their range beyond the Southeast and become pestilent in new areas with continued climatic warming and urbanization. Here we present a review of the biology, ecology, response to environmental conditions, host range and damage, and management of gloomy scale.}, number={1}, journal={JOURNAL OF INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT}, author={Just, Michael G. and Dale, Adam G. and Frank, Steven D.}, year={2020}, month={Dec} }
 @article{just_dale_long_frank_2019, title={Urbanization drives unique latitudinal patterns of insect herbivory and tree condition}, volume={128}, ISSN={["1600-0706"]}, DOI={10.1111/oik.05874}, abstractNote={Urban landscapes are characterized by high proportions of impervious surface resulting in higher temperatures than adjacent natural landscapes. In some cities, like those at cooler latitudes, trees may benefit from warmer urban temperatures, but trees in many cities are beset with problems like drought stress and increased herbivory. What drives patterns of urban tree health across urbanization and latitudinal temperature gradients? In natural systems, latitude–herbivory relationships are well‐studied, and recent temperate studies have shown that herbivory generally increases with decreasing latitudes (warmer temperatures). However, the applicability of this latitude–herbivory theory in already‐warmed urban systems is unknown. In this study, we investigated how the interaction of urbanization, latitudinal warming and scale insect abundance affected urban tree health. We predicted that trees in warmer, lower latitude cities would be in poorer health at lower levels of urbanization than trees at cooler, higher latitudes due to the interaction of urbanization, latitudinal temperature and herbivory. To evaluate our predictions, we surveyed the abundance of scale insect herbivores on a single, common tree species Acer rubrum in eight US cities spanning 10° of latitude. We estimated urbanization at two extents, a local one that accounted for the direct effects on an individual tree, and a larger one that captured the surrounding urban landscape. We found that urban tree health did not vary with latitudinal temperature but was best predicted by local urbanization and herbivore abundance. We did not observe increased herbivore abundance in warmer, lower latitudes cities, but instead herbivore abundance peaked in the mid latitudes of our study. This study demonstrates that urban landscapes may deviate from classical theory developed in natural systems and reinforces the need for research reconciling ecological patterns in urban landscapes.}, number={7}, journal={OIKOS}, author={Just, Michael G. and Dale, Adam G. and Long, Lawrence C. and Frank, Steven D.}, year={2019}, month={Jul}, pages={984–993} }
 @article{youngsteadt_dale_terando_dunn_frank_2015, title={Do cities simulate climate change? A comparison of herbivore response to urban and global warming}, volume={21}, ISSN={["1365-2486"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84916930773&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1111/gcb.12692}, abstractNote={AbstractCities experience elevated temperature, CO2, and nitrogen deposition decades ahead of the global average, such that biological response to urbanization may predict response to future climate change. This hypothesis remains untested due to a lack of complementary urban and long‐term observations. Here, we examine the response of an herbivore, the scale insect Melanaspis tenebricosa, to temperature in the context of an urban heat island, a series of historical temperature fluctuations, and recent climate warming. We survey M. tenebricosa on 55 urban street trees in Raleigh, NC, 342 herbarium specimens collected in the rural southeastern United States from 1895 to 2011, and at 20 rural forest sites represented by both modern (2013) and historical samples. We relate scale insect abundance to August temperatures and find that M. tenebricosa is most common in the hottest parts of the city, on historical specimens collected during warm time periods, and in present‐day rural forests compared to the same sites when they were cooler. Scale insects reached their highest densities in the city, but abundance peaked at similar temperatures in urban and historical datasets and tracked temperature on a decadal scale. Although urban habitats are highly modified, species response to a key abiotic factor, temperature, was consistent across urban and rural‐forest ecosystems. Cities may be an appropriate but underused system for developing and testing hypotheses about biological effects of climate change. Future work should test the applicability of this model to other groups of organisms.}, number={1}, journal={GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY}, author={Youngsteadt, Elsa and Dale, Adam G. and Terando, Adam J. and Dunn, Robert R. and Frank, Steven D.}, year={2015}, month={Jan}, pages={97–105} }
 @article{dale_frank_2014, title={The Effects of Urban Warming on Herbivore Abundance and Street Tree Condition}, volume={9}, ISSN={["1932-6203"]}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0102996}, abstractNote={Trees are essential to urban habitats because they provide services that benefit the environment and improve human health. Unfortunately, urban trees often have more herbivorous insect pests than rural trees but the mechanisms and consequences of these infestations are not well documented. Here, we examine how temperature affects the abundance of a scale insect, Melanaspis tenebricosa (Comstock) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), on one of the most commonly planted street trees in the eastern U.S. Next, we examine how both pest abundance and temperature are associated with water stress, growth, and condition of 26 urban street trees. Although trees in the warmest urban sites grew the most, they were more water stressed and in worse condition than trees in cooler sites. Our analyses indicate that visible declines in tree condition were best explained by scale-insect infestation rather than temperature. To test the broader relevance of these results, we extend our analysis to a database of more than 2700 Raleigh, US street trees. Plotting these trees on a Landsat thermal image of Raleigh, we found that warmer sites had over 70% more trees in poor condition than those in cooler sites. Our results support previous studies linking warmer urban habitats to greater pest abundance and extend this association to show its effect on street tree condition. Our results suggest that street tree condition and ecosystem services may decline as urban expansion and global warming exacerbate the urban heat island effect. Although our non-probability sampling method limits our scope of inference, our results present a gloomy outlook for urban forests and emphasize the need for management tools. Existing urban tree inventories and thermal maps could be used to identify species that would be most suitable for urban conditions.}, number={7}, journal={PLOS ONE}, author={Dale, Adam G. and Frank, Steven D.}, year={2014}, month={Jul} }
 @article{dale_frank_2014, title={Urban warming trumps natural enemy regulation of herbivorous pests}, volume={24}, number={7}, journal={Ecological Applications}, author={Dale, A. G. and Frank, S. D.}, year={2014}, pages={1596–1607} }