Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e02365 |
| Journal | Ecological Applications |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 3 May 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2021 |
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms contributing to positive relationships between predator diversity and natural pest control is fundamental to inform more effective management practices to support sustainable crop production. Predator body size can provide important insights to better understand and predict such predator-pest interactions. Yet, most studies exploring the link between predator body size and pest control have been conducted in species-poor communities under controlled environmental conditions, limiting our ability to generalize this relationship across heterogeneous landscapes. Using the community of naturally occurring ground beetles in cabbage fields, we examined how landscape composition (percent cropland) influences the size structure (mean, variance, and skewness of body size distribution) of predator communities and the subsequent effects on pest control. We found that predator communities shifted their size distribution toward larger body sizes in agriculturally dominated landscapes. This pattern arose from increasing numerical dominance of a few large-bodied species rather than an aggregated response across the community. Such landscape-driven changes in community size structure led to concomitant impacts on pest control, as the mean body size of predators was positively related to predation rates. Notably, the magnitude of pest control depended not only on the size of the dominant predators but was also strongly determined by the relative proportion of small vs. large-bodied species (i.e., skewness). Predation rates were higher in predator assemblages with even representation of small and large-bodied species relative to communities dominated by either large or small-bodied predators. Landscape composition may therefore modulate the relationship between predator body size and pest control by influencing the body size distribution of co-occurring species. Our study highlights the need to consider agricultural practices that not only boost effective predators, but also sustain a predator assemblage with a diverse set of traits to maximize overall pest control.
Keywords
- Brassica oleracea, biological control, ecosystem services, functional traits, ground beetles, landscape simplification, multi-predator effects, top-down control
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Ecological Applications, Vol. 31, No. 6, e02365, 09.2021.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Landscape composition mediates the relationship between predator body size and pest control
AU - Perez-Alvarez , Ricardo
AU - Grab, Heather
AU - Polyakov, Anthony
AU - Poveda, Katja
N1 - Funding Information: We thank J. Thaler, B. Nault, and L. Snyder for comments that greatly improved this manuscript. This research was supported by the USDA‐NIFA award No. 2019‐67013‐29367 and a Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station Federal Capacity Fund (Projects No. NYC139748) received from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), United States Department of Agriculture to K. Poveda. H. Grab was funded by the USDA NIFA postdoc award No. 2018‐67012‐27978. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) or the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Understanding the mechanisms contributing to positive relationships between predator diversity and natural pest control is fundamental to inform more effective management practices to support sustainable crop production. Predator body size can provide important insights to better understand and predict such predator-pest interactions. Yet, most studies exploring the link between predator body size and pest control have been conducted in species-poor communities under controlled environmental conditions, limiting our ability to generalize this relationship across heterogeneous landscapes. Using the community of naturally occurring ground beetles in cabbage fields, we examined how landscape composition (percent cropland) influences the size structure (mean, variance, and skewness of body size distribution) of predator communities and the subsequent effects on pest control. We found that predator communities shifted their size distribution toward larger body sizes in agriculturally dominated landscapes. This pattern arose from increasing numerical dominance of a few large-bodied species rather than an aggregated response across the community. Such landscape-driven changes in community size structure led to concomitant impacts on pest control, as the mean body size of predators was positively related to predation rates. Notably, the magnitude of pest control depended not only on the size of the dominant predators but was also strongly determined by the relative proportion of small vs. large-bodied species (i.e., skewness). Predation rates were higher in predator assemblages with even representation of small and large-bodied species relative to communities dominated by either large or small-bodied predators. Landscape composition may therefore modulate the relationship between predator body size and pest control by influencing the body size distribution of co-occurring species. Our study highlights the need to consider agricultural practices that not only boost effective predators, but also sustain a predator assemblage with a diverse set of traits to maximize overall pest control.
AB - Understanding the mechanisms contributing to positive relationships between predator diversity and natural pest control is fundamental to inform more effective management practices to support sustainable crop production. Predator body size can provide important insights to better understand and predict such predator-pest interactions. Yet, most studies exploring the link between predator body size and pest control have been conducted in species-poor communities under controlled environmental conditions, limiting our ability to generalize this relationship across heterogeneous landscapes. Using the community of naturally occurring ground beetles in cabbage fields, we examined how landscape composition (percent cropland) influences the size structure (mean, variance, and skewness of body size distribution) of predator communities and the subsequent effects on pest control. We found that predator communities shifted their size distribution toward larger body sizes in agriculturally dominated landscapes. This pattern arose from increasing numerical dominance of a few large-bodied species rather than an aggregated response across the community. Such landscape-driven changes in community size structure led to concomitant impacts on pest control, as the mean body size of predators was positively related to predation rates. Notably, the magnitude of pest control depended not only on the size of the dominant predators but was also strongly determined by the relative proportion of small vs. large-bodied species (i.e., skewness). Predation rates were higher in predator assemblages with even representation of small and large-bodied species relative to communities dominated by either large or small-bodied predators. Landscape composition may therefore modulate the relationship between predator body size and pest control by influencing the body size distribution of co-occurring species. Our study highlights the need to consider agricultural practices that not only boost effective predators, but also sustain a predator assemblage with a diverse set of traits to maximize overall pest control.
KW - Brassica oleracea
KW - biological control
KW - ecosystem services
KW - functional traits
KW - ground beetles
KW - landscape simplification
KW - multi-predator effects
KW - top-down control
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107494254&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/eap.2365
DO - 10.1002/eap.2365
M3 - Article
VL - 31
JO - Ecological Applications
JF - Ecological Applications
SN - 1051-0761
IS - 6
M1 - e02365
ER -