New paper published on shothole borer risk
Ben and Andy have published a new paper outlining the risk that the shothole borer poses to huge areas of Australia if it continues to spreads. Their study warns that large parts of Australia, including major cities and farming regions, could be highly vulnerable to a fast-spreading invasive beetle, already causing severe damage across the Perth metropolitan area. Andy and Ben combined daily climate data, vegetation maps and biological parameters to predict where the beetle can survive, grow and spread. The research found the destructive pest thrives in many Australian climates, and several other states like Queensland and New South Wales are at high risk of future PSHB infestations.
The paper ‘Boring Beetles and Super Models: Mapping Potential Distributions of a New Invader’ was published in the Journal of Biogeography. You can read the paper here.
