Effects of forest heterogeneity on the efficiency of caterpillar control service provided by birds in temperate oak forests

Bereczki, Krisztina; Odór, Péter; Csóka, György; Mag, Zsuzsa; Báldi, András

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.001

Cited by 68 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Lawler & Edwards 2002). Furthermore, in our case shrub cover had no significant effect on bird abundance contrary to other studies examining the explanatory variables of bird distribution patterns across edges (Berry 2001, Batáry et al 2014. We may conclude that this is due to the local context-dependency of edge effects.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…We provided evidence -in line with other studies from Central Europe (e.g. Diaz 2008, Bereczki et al 2014) and beyond (e.g. González-GÓmez et al 2006) -that forests management regimes supporting high bird abundance can be an effective way to control insect pest population.…”

Section: Edge Effect On Insect Pest Controlsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…González-GÓmez et al 2006, Bereczki et al 2014. We also found an unexpected humpedshaped pattern both in predation rate and bird abundance, having peaks both at the edge and in the interior (50 m), while significantly lower in between.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…Predation rate was measured as the number of caterpillars damaged by predators after a six days period. The six days duration proved to be the optimal prey exposure length (Bereczki et al 2014). After field exposure, artificial preys were checked for the signs of predation.…”

Section: Predation Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Effects of forest edge on pest control service provided by birds in fragmented temperate forests

Bereczki

Hajdu

Báldi

2015

Acta Zool Acad Sci H

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Controlling herbivorous insects by insectivorous birds is one of the most important regulating services in forest ecosystems. The fragmentation of forests and the associated increase of edge effect, however, influences forest bird communities and thereby may have an impact on biological control via the modification of prey-predator interactions. In the present study we aimed to examine how insectivorous bird abundance and their predation on artificial caterpillars were affected by forest edges and vegetation structure in fragmented temperate forests of southwest Hungary. We found an unexpected negative humpedshaped pattern for predation rate as well as for bird abundance, having peaks both at the edge and in the interior (50 m from the edge). We found a positive correlation between bird abundance and predation rate, therefore the important role of birds in insect pest control was supported. Interestingly, the abundance of insectivorous birds had negative relationships to forest structure variables, such as tree basal area and tree species richness. This unexpected pattern may be a result of the context-dependency of edge effects that cannot be fully explained by our study. It highlights the need for more studies to explore the general pattern of edge effect on insect pest control.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Edge Effect On Insect Pest Controlsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Predation Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Effects of forest edge on pest control service provided by birds in fragmented temperate forests

Bereczki

Hajdu

Báldi

2015

Acta Zool Acad Sci H

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A strong top-down effect is in agreement with studies that show high numbers of insectivorous birds reduce damaging herbivorous insect numbers and their effect on tree health e.g. [22]- [25], or a reduction of insectivorous birds and the increase of a despotic species results in an indirect increase in damaging herbivorous insects e.g. [14] [26]- [28].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

The Influence of Avian Biodiversity and a Weedy Understorey on Canopy Arthropod Assembly

Lambert¹,

Andrew²,

McDonald³

2014

OJE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Identifying the factor causing species decline from a multitude of potential disturbances is essential for successful management. Invasive species are often drivers of decline, either through direct effects such as recruitment limitation, or through indirect effects such as habitat modification that facilitate biota changes in other taxa. In this study, we tested the importance of bird predation on arthropods in eucalypt canopies in wet sclerophyll forest that had been invaded by the understorey weed Lantana camara. A strong top-down effect is in agreement with studies that show elevated numbers of insectivorous birds, such as the despotic bell miner, Manorina melanophrys, reduce damaging herbivorous insect numbers and their effect on tree health. Abundance, order and family composition were compared among sites, feeding guilds, among the presence and absence of a despotic bird, and among presence and absence within sites, using a three-way nested Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), and tested our representation of insect feeding guilds with rarefaction curves. In total, we found arthropods from 20 families on eucalypt trees, 16 where bell miners were present and 18 where they were absent (a sampling efficiency of 78% and 92% of families based on the Chao-I index). Overall, there was a difference in the abundance of insects in areas where bell miners were present (n = 181), and where they were absent (n = 67). There was also a difference in the families present in areas with bell miners and without them. Under some conditions, despotic birds may not change the insect canopy community. Further studies should examine the effects of a despotic bird on the insect canopy community in a variety of conditions and throughout their range.

show abstract

Sphingid caterpillars conspicuous patches do not function as distractive marks or warning against predators

Barrone

Vidal

Stevenson

2023

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To avoid predation by visual predators, caterpillars can be cryptic to decrease detectability or aposematic to warn predators of potential unpalatability. However, for some species, it is not clear if conspicuous patches are selected to avoid predation. For example, Pandora sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus, Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) caterpillars are assumed to be palatable and have both cryptic (green, brown) and conspicuous (orange, red) color morphs. Five lateral, off-white to yellow patches on either side may serve as a warning for predators or to draw attention away from the caterpillar's form to function as distractive marks. We conducted a field study in three temperate fragmented forests in Massachusetts to investigate the potential utility of E. pandorus coloration and conspicuous patches. Using four plasticine caterpillar prey model treatments, green and red with and without lateral conspicuous patches, we tested the effects of color, patch patterning, and seasonality on attack rates by a variety of taxa. We found that 43% of the prey models (n = 964) had bite marks by an array of predators including arthropods (67.5%), birds (18.2%), rodents (11.5%), and large mammals (2.8%). Arthropods as dominant predators align with conclusions from previous studies of prey models placed near ground level. Attack rates peaked for arthropods in late August and early September but were more constant across trials for vertebrates. Arthropods, a heterogeneous group, as indicated by the variety of bite marks, showed significantly higher attack rates on green colored prey models and a tendency of higher attack on solid (non-patch patterned) prey models. Vertebrates, more visually oriented predators, had significantly higher attack rates on red colored prey models and patch patterned prey models. Thus, our results did not suggest that conspicuous patch patterning reduced predation and therefore, we did not find support for the distractive mark hypothesis or warning hypothesis. Further, our study shows clear contrasting interpretations by different predators regarding visual defensive strategies.

show abstract

Effects of forest heterogeneity on the efficiency of caterpillar control service provided by birds in temperate oak forests

Cited by 68 publications

References 40 publications

Effects of forest edge on pest control service provided by birds in fragmented temperate forests

Effects of forest edge on pest control service provided by birds in fragmented temperate forests

The Influence of Avian Biodiversity and a Weedy Understorey on Canopy Arthropod Assembly

Sphingid caterpillars conspicuous patches do not function as distractive marks or warning against predators

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About