Biological Control Through Intraguild Predation: Case Studies in Pest Control, Invasive Species and Range Expansion

Abstract

Intraguild predation (IGP), the interaction between species that eat each other and compete for shared resources, is ubiquitous in nature. We document its occurrence across a wide range of taxonomic groups and ecosystems with particular reference to non-indigenous species and agricultural pests. The consequences of IGP are complex and difficult to interpret. The purpose of this paper is to provide a modelling framework for the analysis of IGP in a spatial context. We start by considering a spatially homogeneous system and find the conditions for predator and prey to exclude each other, to coexist and for alternative stable states. Management alternatives for the control of invasive or pest species through IGP are presented for the spatially homogeneous system. We extend the model to include movement of predator and prey. In this spatial context, it is possible to switch between alternative stable steady states through local perturbations that give rise to travelling waves of extinction or control. The direction of the travelling wave depends on the details of the nonlinear intraguild interactions, but can be calculated explicitly. This spatial phenomenon suggests means by which invasions succeed or fail, and yields new methods for spatial biological control. Freshwater case studies are used to illustrate the outcomes.

Trophic interactions and consequent impacts of the invasive fish Pseudorasbora parva in a native aquatic foodweb: a field investigation in the UK

“…Ecological impacts range from single prey-predator interactions between introduced and resident species (Clarkson et al 2005;Dietrich et al 2006;Bampfylde and Lewis 2007;Yonekura et al 2007) to shifts in ecosystem function (Vander Zanden et al 1999;Dietrich et al 2006;Zimmerman and Vondracek 2007). Their detrimental impacts have generated interest in the factors controlling invasion success (Crawley 1987;Drake et al 1989), the traits of successful invaders (Baker 1965;Rejmánek and Richardson 1996) and the types of communities most susceptible to invasion (Levine and D'Antonio 1999;Davis et al 2000).…”

Using mean first passage times to quantify equilibrium resilience in perturbed intraguild predation systems

“…Bampfylde and Lewis (2007) considered space explicitly in a model of this system with a type II functional response and found conditions for traveling waves of invasion and biological control, suggesting that spatial considerations can be important.…”

A two-patch prey-predator model with food-gathering activity

“…Ecological approaches in integrated pest management (IPM) has been attracting considerable attention recently due to its numerous impacts in regard to ecological as well as environmental aspects [32]. By considering prey-predator dynamics at finer scale, both temporally and spatially, it may be possible to design crop systems (agroecosystems) so that insect pest problems and the need for active control measures are minimized [3,7,11]. For instance, ecological theory about stability is relevant to pest control by natural enemies, because this control strategy does not recognize even local extinction of the pests, and hence it attempts to regulate the pest population at low densities by a continuous presence of natural enemies [38].…”