A hybrid population of mountain pine beetles is set to do further damage to one of Canada’s most iconic regions.
Using genetic tools, University of Alberta conservation biologists found that the mountain pine beetles in Jasper National Park have an increased genetic diversity, providing the already adaptive species with more opportunity to adapt and survive in different environmental conditions.
“It means the beetles from Jasper National Park could spread more easily than other mountain pine beetles have in the past,” said Jasmine Janes, a post-doctoral fellow who led the research project with master’s student Stephen Trevoy.
The scientists who set out to trace the origin of mountain pine beetles in Jasper National Park focused on describing the genetic signature of the beetles in the region.
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Image via University of Alberta.