F. Lieutier is a professor of zoology and ecology at the University of Orleans, France. The main part of his research activities has been concerned with tree - insect relationships in general, especially conifer resistance to bark beetles and their associated fungi, in relation to intra-specific genetic variations and environmental factors. He has coordinated several European projects in these fields and has been the chairman of the IUFRO Working Group " Tree resistance to Insects " for 10 years.
D. Ghaioule is a research engineer at the Division de Recherche et d'Expérimentation Forestière of Rabat, Morocco. His research field is forest entomology in general, but focuses mainly on conifer - bark beetle - fungi relationships.