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Lodgepole pines attacked by mountain pine beetles release volatile chemical compounds to warn related trees of the incoming threat, according to a new University of Alberta study.
[...]The messages from the attacked tree can only be decoded by its closest relatives, not by strangers, said Altaf Hussain, a Ph.D. candidate who led the study.
"This communication between the neighboring related pines allows the healthy trees to prepare for the attack by boosting up their chemical defenses," he added.
[...]"As far as I know, there is no research that shows kinship support through volatile organic chemicals, so it's quite exciting," Hussain explained.
Mountain pine beetles are a serious threat to Canada's forests. Native to British Columbia, the beetles used to play a crucial role in renewing lodgepole pine populations. The warming climate of recent years made the beetle population explode and cross the Rocky Mountains into Alberta.
Because the beetles are capable of killing most species of pines in North America, scientists now anticipate their migration will continue through the boreal forest all the way to the East Coast in coming decades, leaving a trail of economic and ecological devastation.
More information: Altaf Hussain et al. Spatial characteristics of volatile communication in lodgepole pine trees: Evidence of kin recognition and intra-species support, Science of The Total Environment (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.211
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Thursday August 08 2019, @07:00PM
Maybe undersea creatures simply detect and interpret moonlight, and the moon does not actively perform any signal transmission.
Maybe the trees really do speak. And listen. Maybe the messages are secret to prevent rival tree groups from interpreting them. [decoded by its closest relatives, not by strangers]
Do sharks have feelings beyond when it is time to eat or mate?
In the 1970s, the view of the future was sterile white futuristic living spaces without green stuff or nature or tree huggers. Except for that one annoying Silent Running movie.
Now we have modern movies like Avatar where these primitive savages are fighting to prevent the humans and their corporations from strip mining the planet in exchange for human language lessons and medical care.
New volatile chemical compounds don't necessarily need to have actual useful properties. All you need is good marketing. It not only cures cancer, but it cures baldness and blindness as well! And it's All Natural!
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.