Open AccessAn overview of the TAMBEETLE model of Dendroctonus frontalis population dynamics
Author(s) -
Coulson Robert N.,
Feldman R. M.,
Sharpe P. J. H.,
Pulley P. E.,
Wagner T. L.,
Payne T. L.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
ecography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.973
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1600-0587
pISSN - 0906-7590
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0587.1989.tb00921.x
Subject(s) - acronym , population , ecology , field (mathematics) , geography , biology , demography , sociology , philosophy , linguistics , mathematics , pure mathematics
Population dynamics of the southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis has been the subject of intensive research in the USA for more than a decade. TAMBEETLE, an acronym for the mechanistic model of population dynamics of D. frontalis , was developed to abstract contemporary knowledge on the insect. This model was developed as a joint venture between the Biosystems Research Group of Industrial Engineering and the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University. The approach used to develop the model and the structure of component submodels is described. Research leading to the development of the model involved a series of field and laboratory studies aimed at various aspects of the population system of the insect. This research is reviewed. Important areas needing further research are identified. Studies dealing with factors involved in initiation of infestions, biome‐level epidemiology, host susceptibility, stand modeling, and dynamics of within‐tree mortality were emphasized as important topics for further research.