Traits d’histoire de vie, effet Allee et risques d’introduction de scolytes exotiques

Since the discovery of America, many domesticated animals and plants have been traded between the Old and the new World. They were often accompanied by damaging pests. Phylloxera invaded Europe in 1863, and the gypsy moth became established in the USA in 1869. The most active pathways for forest pests are currently the trade in planting stock and wood packaging material. Under comparable circumstances (commercial flows etc.), the biological traits that favour an invader’s success are to some extent predictive. Scolytine beetles provide an excellent example. Analysis of establishment successes by alien species uncovers at least three non-exclusive features of an « efficient invader »: Sib-mating, polyphagia and association with a virulent pathogen. These features allow the successfully establishment and spread of small inoculums; they give a low «Allee threshold » to these species.SCOPUS: ar.j