Antagonism between two natural enemies improves biological control of a coffee pest: The importance of dominance hierarchies

Ong, Theresa Wei Ying; Vandermeer, John

doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2014.06.002

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The overabundance of competitors and IGP in systems with effective autonomous biological control has always been difficult to explain, given the standard theory [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]27,28 . Here, we suggest that the prevalence of these negative interactions between diverse assemblages in nature may in fact contribute to the consistent and stable level of natural control found in many undisturbed ecosystems 3,27,28,30,51 . We add that evidence in favour of sampling effects from one strong natural enemy [16][17][18][19][20] are curiously also consistent with dominance hierarchies among competing enemies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One well-documented example is the predation of pests that harbour developing parasitoids 32 . The same argument can be made for developing fungal spores within pests, although few have attempted to test this question 30,31 . Currently, IGP is generally considered a hindrance to biocontrol efforts, and is often used as a default explanation for non-significant or negative relationships between diversity of control agents and biocontrol 16,[18][19][20]22,23 , while in the theoretical literature IGP is presented as a hindrance to competitive coexistence by seeming on the surface to lead to exclusion of the intraguild prey 17,[24][25][26] .…”

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confidence: 99%

“…To the extent studied thus far, all herbivores are attacked by both predators/parasitoids and pathogens 26,[29][30][31][32] , suggesting that any system of autonomous control will automatically contain this duality of control factors. Thus, we investigate the controlling effects of first a pathogen, then a predator and finally their combination.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in cases where pathogens and predators are not separated by space or time, we argue that the potential for strong negative interactions is high, especially considering the evidence of non-target effects by generalist pathogens on other competing natural enemies, primarily predators 26,31 . Although studies more frequently report cases of IGP between predators, the prevalence of coexisting disease and predator control agents suggests that predators must engage in IGP with pathogens whenever they happen to consume infected prey 17,[30][31][32] . We argue that in cases where infection of hosts is widespread or latent for long periods of time 33 , prey choice becomes limited for predators, making IGP more likely 30 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although studies more frequently report cases of IGP between predators, the prevalence of coexisting disease and predator control agents suggests that predators must engage in IGP with pathogens whenever they happen to consume infected prey 17,[30][31][32] . We argue that in cases where infection of hosts is widespread or latent for long periods of time 33 , prey choice becomes limited for predators, making IGP more likely 30 . One well-documented example is the predation of pests that harbour developing parasitoids 32 .…”

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Coupling unstable agents in biological control

Ong¹,

Vandermeer²

2015

Nat Commun

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Coupling unstable agents in biological control

Ong¹,

Vandermeer²

2015

Nat Commun

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Huffaker revisited: spatial heterogeneity and the coupling of ineffective agents in biological control

2018

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Citation: Ong, T. W., D. Allen, and J. Vandermeer. 2018. Huffaker revisited: spatial heterogeneity and the coupling of ineffective agents in biological control. Ecosphere 9(7):e02299. 10.1002/ecs2.2299Abstract. In a classic study, Huffaker demonstrated that abiotic forms of spatial heterogeneity could induce stability in predator-prey interactions. Recent theories suggest that space can also act to destabilize predator-prey systems and that stability can arise from coupling of unstable units. Here, using Huffaker's classic experimental design refitted with modern empirical and statistical techniques, we reassess the effect of space on predator-prey interactions when the prey are pests of agriculture and when predators must compete with pathogens for shared prey resources. Using an empirical system including aphids, ladybird beetles, and entomopathogenic fungi, we show that while two different control agents were ineffective at controlling pests in insolation, coupling them together not only improved control of the pest but also reduced the occurrence of large, spatially clustered pest outbreaks. Our results suggest that as agriculture becomes increasingly isolated and consolidated across landscapes, endogenous forms of spatial heterogeneity, which arise from interactions between diverse assemblages of control agents, may break down. We suggest that improving connectivity across landscapes is important for maintaining effective biological control in agroecosystems.

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Shifts in host–parasitoid networks across community garden management and urban landscape gradients

Lucatero,

Smith,

Bichier

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

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Biological pest control relies on interactions between herbivores and their natural enemies. Maintaining this ecosystem service requires considering herbivore and natural enemy interactions and their response to anthropogenic change at multiple scales. In this study, we used ecological networks to quantify the network structure of interactions between herbivorous insects and their parasitoids. We examined how herbivore host abundance, parasitism rates, and shifts in network structure relate to changes in local habitat management and landscape context. We sampled herbivores and parasitoids in Brassica oleracea plants at 22 urban gardens in the Central Coast of California. At each site, we measured local management characteristics (e.g., vegetation, ground cover, canopy cover) and quantified surrounding landscape composition (e.g., urban, natural, open, and agricultural cover). For the eight sites with large enough networks, we calculated three network structure metrics (interaction richness, vulnerability, and functional complementarity). We then used generalized linear and mixed models to examine relationships between herbivore host abundance, parasitism rates, garden management and landscape characteristics, and network metrics. We found that both local management and landscape composition influenced parasitism, while only local factors affected host abundance and network structure. Higher network interaction richness was marginally associated with enhanced parasitism rates for two host species and lower parasitism rates for one host species. Our results suggest that local garden management decisions may shift the structure of host–parasitoid networks, which may subsequently affect host parasitism rates, but outcomes for biological pest control will likely vary across host species.

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Antagonism between two natural enemies improves biological control of a coffee pest: The importance of dominance hierarchies

Cited by 12 publications

References 29 publications

Coupling unstable agents in biological control

Coupling unstable agents in biological control

Huffaker revisited: spatial heterogeneity and the coupling of ineffective agents in biological control

Shifts in host–parasitoid networks across community garden management and urban landscape gradients

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