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Daegan leads an innovative programme of applied research upon the threats to UK trees and woodlands from new and emerging forest pest insects. He specifically tackles key knowledge gaps around the most destructive pest threats, with topics including the changing risk to UK forest health from invasive species, the influence of climate change upon pest impacts and host tree responses, insect associations with pathogenic fungi and bacteria, and horizon scanning work to identify future potential biosecurity threats.

Daegan leads a highly capable and effective team of research scientists, postgraduate students, volunteers, and interns with a shared commitment to help protect our trees, woods, and forests by providing evidence to directly inform UK policy and pest management responses. The scope of their work is expanded through dynamic and effective research collaborations with a range of UK and international universities, government agencies, NGOs, and international forestry departments. Daegan provides expert advice and analysis upon pest risks to plant health, working with government agencies and international organisations, and contributing to phytosanitary assessments and plant health working groups.

Daegan joined Forest Research in 2006, following around 10 years at the Natural History Museum London, where he studied the evolutionary ecology and molecular phylogenetics of termites, cockroaches, and dung beetle communities, in association with Imperial College London.

 

Key research topics and responsibilities:

  • Investigating the susceptibility of Sitka spruce to the invasive bark beetle Ips typographus and the origin of UK establishments. Programme leader.
  • The resistance of European ash to Emerald Ash Borer, and the influence of ash dieback. Programme leader and PhD supervisor.
  •  Horizon scanning for emerging pest and disease threats to UK priority tree species. Programme leader.
  •  Assessing non-target host interactions of parasitoid control agents of Emerald Ash Borer, and the efficacy of UK native wasps. Co-investigator.
  • Investigating range expansion of bark beetles in the genus Ips. Euphresco co-investigator.
  • Development of Forest Research entomology collections and associated strategy. Work area leader.
  • Innovation and support of novel tree health research and initiatives, including the exciting new Centre for Forest Protection
  •  Scientific advisor to Forestry Commission Plant Health, Defra, and European Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO). Expert Working Groups, pest risk & mitigation analysis.

 

Other recent projects:

 

Affiliations

  • Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society
  • Member of the Insect Collections Managers Group
  • Convenor of the Forest Insects Special Interest Group, Royal Entomological Society
Staff profile picture for Daegan Inward

Daegan Inward

BSc, MSc, PhD
Senior Scientist – Entomology
Tree health

Alice Holt

Alice Holt Lodge

Wrecclesham

Farnham

Surrey

Related Research

Research

Neurostresspep

Neurostresspep explores the use of insect neuropeptide hormones for controlling pest insects; Forest Research is investigating whether these naturally occurring compounds can be used in forest management to reduce damage by pine weevil (Hylobius abietis).

Status completed
Themes
Tree health

Peer reviewed journal articles

Inward, D. (2022) Managing a woodland with acute oak decline: Bell Coppice case study, and Pest Risks in Adapting forest and woodland management to the changing climate. UK Forestry Standard Practice Guide.

Ceballos-Escalera, A., Richards, J., Arias, M.B., Inward, D., Vogler, A. (2022) Metabarcoding of insect-associated fungal communities: a comparison of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large-subunit (LSU) rRNA markers.  MycoKeys 88: 1–33

Straw, N., Inward, D., Blake, M. & Mainprize, N. (2021) Pest specific plant health response plan: Two-Lined Chestnut Borer (Agrilus bilineatus). Official GB contingency plan.

Inward, D. (2021) Dendroctonus micans. EPPO datasheets on pests recommended for regulation.

Reed, K., Forster, J., Denman, S., Brown, N., Leather, S.R. & Inward, D. (2020) Novel dendrochronological modelling demonstrates that decades of reduced stem growth predispose trees to Acute Oak Decline. Forest Ecology and Management, 476: 118441.

Grousset, F., Grégoire, J.C., Jactel, H., Battisti, A., Benko Beloglavec, A., Hrašovec, B., Hulcr, J., Inward, D., Orlinski, A. & Petter, F. (2020) The Risk of Bark and Ambrosia Beetles Associated with Imported Non-Coniferous Wood and Potential Horizontal Phytosanitary Measures. Forests, 11: 342

Straw, N. & Inward, D. (2020) Pest specific plant health response plan: Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis). Official GB contingency plan for Defra and FC.

Inward, D. (2020) Ips cembrae. EPPO datasheets on pests recommended for regulation.

Inward, D. (2020) Apriona rugicollis. EPPO datasheets on pests recommended for regulation.

Battisti, A., Benko Beloglavec, A., Hrašovec, B., Hulcr, J., Grégoire, J.C., Grousset, F., Jactel, H., Inward, D., Petter, F., Orlinski, A. (2020) EPPO Technical Document No. 1081, EPPO Study on the risk of bark and ambrosia beetles associated with imported non-coniferous wood. EPPO, Paris.

Inward, D.J.G. (2019) Three new species of ambrosia beetles established in the UK illustrate unresolved risks of timber importation. Journal of Pest Science 93: 117 – 126

Inward, D., Reed, K., & Gill, R. (2019) Pest threats to UK Oak Health. In: Action Oak Knowledge review: an assessment of the current evidence on oak health in the UK, identification of evidence gaps and prioritisation of research needs. Quine, C.P., Atkinson, N., Denman, S., Desprez-Loustau, M-L., Jackson, R., Kirby, K. (eds). Action Oak, Haslemere, UK. pp. 39-64.

Miller, K.E., Inward, D., Gomez-Rodriguez, C., Baselga, A., & Vogler, A. (2019) Predicting the unpredictable: How host specific is the mycobiota of bark and ambrosia beetles? Fungal Ecology, 42: 100854

Pandit, A.A., Ragionieri, L., Marley, R., Yeoh, J.G.C., Inward, D.J.G., Davies, S.A. Predel, R., & Dow, J.A.T. (2018) Coordinated RNA-Seq and peptidomics identify neuropeptides and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in the large pine weevil Hylobius abietis, a major forestry pest. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 101: 94-107.

Reed, K., Denman, S., Leather, S. R., Forster, J. & Inward, D. J. (2018). The lifecycle of Agrilus biguttatus: the role of temperature in its development and distribution, and implications for Acute Oak Decline. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 20: 334-346.

Gent, C. A., Wainhouse, D., Day, K., Peace, A. J. & Inward, D.J.G. (2017). Temperature‐dependent development of the great European spruce bark beetle Dendroctonus micans (Kug.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) and its predator Rhizophagus grandis Gyll.(Coleoptera: Monotomidae: Rhizophaginae). Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 19: 321-331.

Miller K.E., Hopkins K., Inward D.J. & Vogler A.P. (2016) Metabarcoding of fungal communities associated with bark beetles. Ecology and Evolution, 6: 1590–1600.

Wainhouse, D. and Inward, D.J.G. (2016). The influence of climate change on forest insect pests in Britain. Forestry Commission Research Note 21, 10pp. https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/documents/216/FCRN021_ha2lNau.pdf

Vuts, J., Woodcock, C.M., Sumner, M.E., Caulfield, J.C., Reed, K., Inward, D.J., Leather, S.R., Pickett, J.A., Birkett, M.A. & Denman, S. (2016) Responses of the two-spotted oak buprestid, Agrilus biguttatus (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), to host tree volatiles. Pest management science, 72: 845-851

Wainhouse D., Inward, D.J.G., Denman S., Green S. & Webber J.F. (2016) Insect Pests and Pathogens of Trees. Agriculture and Forestry Climate change report card technical paper 7. 51pp. https://nerc.ukri.org/research/partnerships/ride/lwec/report-cards/agriculture-source07/

Inward, D.J.G. (2015) Rapid Pest Risk Analysis for Xylosandrus germanus (Coleoptera: Scolytinae). UK Plant Health Risk Register, Defra.

Brown, N., Inward, D.J.G., Jeger, M. & Denman, S. (2015) The role of Agrilus biguttatus in Acute Oak Decline: its relationship with oak and its status in Britain. Forestry, 88: 53-63.

Straw, N.A., Fielding, N.J., Tilbury, C., Williams, D.T. & Inward, D. (2014) Host preferences and resource utilisation by Asian Longhorn beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in southern England. Forestry, 88: 84-95.

Wainhouse, D., Inward, D.J.G. & Morgan, G. (2014) Modelling geographical variation in voltinism of Hylobius abietis under climate change and implications for management. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 16: 136-146.

Inward, D.J.G., Wainhouse, D. & Peace, A. (2012) The effect of temperature on the development and life cycle regulation of the pine weevil Hylobius abietis and the potential impacts of climate change. Agricultural and Forest Entomology 14: 348–357

Fassotte, C., Inward, D., Haack, R., Herms, D., Sansford, C., Suffert, M. and Orlinski, A. (2011) Pest risk analysis for Agrilus anxius. European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization. 11-16987 (11-16988).

Inward, D.J.G., Davies, R.G., Pergande, C., Denham, A.J. & Vogler, A.P. (2011) Local and regional ecological morphology of dung beetle assemblages across four biogeographic regions. Journal of Biogeography, 38: 1668-1682.

Monaghan, M.T., Wild, R., Elliott, M., Fujisawa, T., Balke, M., Inward, D.J.G., Lees, D., Ranaivosolo, R., Eggleton, P., Barraclough, T. & Vogler, A.P. (2009) Accelerated Species Inventory on Madagascar Using Coalescent-Based Models of Species Delineation. Systematic Biology. 58: 298-311.

Inward, D., Beccaloni, G. & Eggleton, P. (2007) Death of an order: a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study confirms that termites are eusocial cockroaches. Biology Letters. 3 (3): 331-335.

Inward, D.J.G., Vogler, A.P. & Eggleton, P. (2007) A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of termites (Isoptera) illuminates key aspects of their evolutionary biology. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 44: 953-967.

Monaghan, M.T., Inward, D.J.G., Hunt, T. & Vogler, A.P. (2007) A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Scarabaeinae (dung beetles). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (2): 674-692.

Scholtz, C.H., Inward, D.J.G. & Kerley, M.D. (2007) Description of a new Palaearctic Trox Fabricius species (Coleoptera: Trogidae) from Thailand, with a review of the Trox opacotuberculatus species-group and its biogeography. Insect Systematics and Evolution. 38: 93-103.

Eggleton, P., Beccaloni, G. & Inward, D.J.G. (2007) Response to Lo et al. (proposal for new epifamily Termitoidae for the Isoptera) Biology Letters. 3: 564-565.

Gathorne-Hardy, F.J., Syaukani & Inward, D.J.G. (2006) Recovery of termite (Isoptera) assemblage structure from shifting cultivation in Barito Ulu, Kalimantan, Indonesia. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 22: 605-608.