Data from: Unravelling the bottom-up and top-down control of a worldwide chestnut tree pest invader through integrative ecological genomics

Biological invasions have become a major threat to all agro-ecosystems,
and estimating the bottom-up and top-down forces controlling invasive
insects stands as a key challenge to lessen their burden on crops,
forestry, and biodiversity. We combined ecological, metabarcoding, and
population genomics analyses with an integrative modelling of the invasion
of the global insect pest Dryocosmus kuriphilus to identify its control by
chestnut tree resources, natural enemies, and its control agent, Torymus
sinensis, in the Eastern Pyrenees. 3. The bottom-up factors, i.e., host
tree frequency and genetic variations associated with a plant
hypersensitive response, had effects 4-10 times greater than the native
hyperparasite community on D. kuriphilus invasion potential (R0). The
>90% field rates of hyperparasitism by T. sinensis and the
associated 80% reduction in D. kuriphilus infestation are likely to be
deceptive, as our modelling predicts their long-term coexistence with
periodic re-emergences. We conclude that bottom-up factors predominantly
regulate D. kuriphilus’s invasion while natural enemies exert a limited
control. The predicted coexistence and ‘co-invasion’ of D. kuriphilus and
the introduced T. sinensis calls for a thorough assessment of the impact
of these global pests and control agents on natural chestnut trees and
native parasitoid communities.