Concordia University
Candidat Ph.D.
superviseur(e): Emma Despland
Début: 2020-09-08
Fin: 2024-09-08
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Projet

Patron de l'herbivorie des insectes sur les érables à sucre et noirs dans les forêts tempérées du Québec
This research addresses the decline of Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) forests in Quebec by examining herbivorous insects as potential contributors to ecosystem changes. The study focuses on three main objectives: evaluating the impact of insect herbivores on the decline, documenting insect biodiversity associated with maples vulnerable to forest degradation and assessing differences in background herbivory patterns between sugar maple and black maple. In the investigation of twelve sugar maple trees in a southern Quebec forest during the summers of 2020, 2021, and 2022, a vertical stratification approach was employed, analyzing insect herbivore patterns from the understory to the canopy. The study also compared insect herbivory patterns between sugar maple and black maple saplings at twenty sites during the summers of 2021, 2022, and 2023. In both studies, rate of insect herbivory was quantified through leaf damage analysis, focusing on affected surface percentage and damage type. The Results for sugar maple sites indicate a decreasing trend in overall herbivory damage on sugar maple from the understory to the sun canopy in 2020 and 2021, attributed to increased light intensity and leaf thickness. The abundance of insect herbivores in 2022 followed a similar pattern. However, no discernible difference in herbivory damages and abundance emerged between the saplings of the two maple species, despite varying leaf physical defenses. In conclusion, the study suggests that vertical stratification in leaf traits significantly influences insect herbivore communities on sugar maple trees, while differences in leaf traits between sugar maple and black maple do not have significant impact on insect herbivory patterns on these species.

Publications

1- The first report of the genus Sinuothrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) from Iran
Hakimara, Mahsa, Saber Sadeghi, Kambiz Minaei, Inci Sahin
2018 Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics

2- A new species of Liophloeothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae) from leaf litter from Iran
HAKIMARA, MAHSA, KAMBIZ MINAEI, SABER SADEGHI, LAURENCE MOUND
2019 Zootaxa

3- Fungus-feeding thrips in Iran with a new species of Stictothrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae)
HAKIMARA, MAHSA, KAMBIZ MINAEI, SABER SADEGHI, LAURENCE MOUND
2019 Zootaxa

4- A new species of Odontothrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) from Fars province, Iran
HAKIMARA, MAHSA, KAMBIZ MINAEI
2019 Zootaxa