Rodents, not birds, dominate predation-related ecosystem services and disservices in vertebrate communities of agricultural landscapes

Tschumi, Matthias; Ekroos, Johan; Hjort, Cecilia; Smith, Henrik G.; Birkhofer, Klaus

doi:10.1007/s00442-018-4242-z

Cited by 39 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Land cover near to the feeders did not appear to have a direct effect on estimated rat populations. This accords with a study in Southern Sweden where activity of rodents was also not affected by surrounding habitat or landscapes (Tschumi et al 2018). Nevertheless, brown rats were more abundant in cultivated land and grass and less abundant in forested areas in Hunan Province, China (Xiao et al 2018).…”

Section: Understanding the Primary Drivers Of Brown Rats Associated Wsupporting

confidence: 90%

Effects of supplementary feed for game birds on activity of brown rats Rattus norvegicus on arable farms

et al. 2020

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Brown rats are widespread in agroecosystems, but our understanding of factors affecting their activity is incomplete due to cryptic, nocturnal behaviours. Indirect monitoring methods include tracking plates and camera traps. Supplementary feeding of game birds may provide resources for rats away from farm buildings, allowing them to persist in winter when there is little other food available. Developing reliable methods to monitor such populations will facilitate landscape-scale studies of rat populations in farm environments and aid ecologically based approaches for controlling rats on farms. We compared camera traps and tracking plates to monitor brown rat activity near game bird feeders at a mixed farm in Northumberland, UK. Generalized linear models (GLM) were used to compare rat incidence estimated from camera traps and tracking plates. A strong positive relationship was found between the two methods, although tracking plate estimates were less reliable when rat activity was very low. Factors that affected populations of brown rats near game bird feeders were assessed via linear mixed-effect models (LMM) of monthly tracking plate data (October 2017 to September 2018). Populations were highest at the feeders (0 m) compared with further away (10 m, 20 m) and were also higher in periods of cold, wet weather and when more food was available from the feeders. Rodenticide application near feeders did not significantly affect activity, nor did land cover 100 m around each feeder. A highly significant relationship was detected with food supply, suggesting that the use of game bird feeders could potentially have major impacts on rat population dynamics.

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Section: Understanding the Primary Drivers Of Brown Rats Associated Wsupporting

confidence: 90%

Effects of supplementary feed for game birds on activity of brown rats Rattus norvegicus on arable farms

et al. 2020

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“…However, birds may contribute less to predation than other vertebrates in the study system and the observed patterns for vertebrate predation may primarily stem from predation by small mammals (Tschumi et al. , and see, e.g., Holmes and Froud‐Williams , Fischer et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common predatory vertebrates in the study system are small mammals followed by some species of birds (Tschumi et al. ). Eighty small holes (diameter 1 mm) were drilled into each tray to allow rainwater to runoff.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation‐mediated ecosystem services and disservices in agricultural landscapes

Tschumi

Ekroos

Hjort

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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Ecological intensification may reduce environmental externalities of agriculture by harnessing biodiversity to benefit regulating ecosystem services. However, to propose management options for the production of such services, there is a need to understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of net effects between ecosystem services and disservices provided by wild organisms across taxonomic groups in relation to habitat and landscape management. We studied the contribution of predatory vertebrates and invertebrates (including both carnivores and seed herbivores) to regulating ecosystem services and disservices in 16 cereal fields in response to a local habitat contrast and a landscape complexity gradient. From May to November 2016, we provided weed (predation reflects an ecosystem service) and crop (predation reflects a disservice) seeds, as well as pest (predation reflects an ecosystem service) and beneficial (predation reflects a disservice) invertebrate prey to predators. Seed predation was dominated by vertebrates, while vertebrates and invertebrates contributed equally to predation of animal prey. Before harvest, predation steadily increased from very low levels in May to high levels in July independent of the resource type. After harvest, ecosystem services declined more rapidly than disservices. The presence of adjacent seminatural grasslands promoted crop seed predation, but reduced pest prey predation. Predation on beneficial prey decreased with increasing proportions of seminatural grassland in the landscape. Predatory vertebrates and invertebrates provide important ecosystem services due to the consumption of pests. However, beneficial invertebrates and crop seeds were often consumed to a similar or even higher extent than harmful invertebrates or weed seeds. Our results therefore raise concerns that management options aimed at enhancing service providers may simultaneously increase levels of disservices. By considering positive and negative effects simultaneously, this study addresses an important knowledge gap and highlights the importance of interactions between local management, landscape composition, and service and disservice provision across taxa and over time. Considering trade-offs between ecosystem services and disservices when evaluating the net effects of biodiversity conservation measures on ecosystem service provision is crucial. Future agri-environment schemes that offer payments for seminatural habitats may need to provide higher compensation for farmers in cases where net effects are likely to be negative.

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“…However, trees and shrubs might greatly enhance natural enemy communities by providing additional trophic resources and sites for reproduction, overwintering and estivation (Stamps and Linit, 1998), especially in older systems (> 15-20 years). Higher trophic taxa such as birds and small mammals have also been shown to benefit from the presence of tree rows and UVS in alley cropping systems (Klaa et al, 2005;Gibbs et al, 2016), and their effects on weed and invertebrate pest suppression are mixed (Tschumi et al, 2018). Besides, agroforestry farmers are currently using contrasting strategies for UVS management (e.g.…”

Section: Future Research On Biological Control In Alley Cropping Agromentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting generalist predators of crop pests in alley cropping agroforestry fields: Farming system matters

Boinot

Mézière

Poulmarc’h

et al. 2020

Ecological Engineering

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Developing agroecological practices that enhance biological control of crop pests is a major issue for the transition of agriculture towards sustainable and biodiversityfriendly systems. Agroecological infrastructures (AEI) are devoted to the support of ecosystem service providers, although they have mixed effects on natural enemies of crop pests. In temperate regions, alley cropping agroforestry involves within-field AEI, in the form of tree rows and associated understory vegetation strips. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of generalist predators (carabid beetles and cursorial spiders) to control weed seeds and invertebrate pests in alley cropping vs pure crop systems, under two contrasting farming systems (conventional vs organic). Predator surveys were carried out in May and June 2017 in SouthWestern France over 12 winter cereal fields. Our study revealed that the effect of alley cropping was modulated by the farming system. Under conventional farming, alley cropping had a negative effect on the activity-density and species richness of generalist predators, especially regarding carnivorous carabids whose activity-density was reduced by nearly 50%. Under organic farming, alley cropping enhanced both the activity-density and complementarity of generalist predators, with a twofold increase in the activity-density of seed-feeding carabids (predominantly granivorous and omnivorous), potentially promoting weed seed and invertebrate pest control. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of AEI in promoting natural enemies depends on the farming system at the field scale, which affects resource availability and determines spillover intensity between habitats. AEI are often perceived as sources of natural enemies. However, sink and retention effects (i.e. reduced or delayed spillover into crop fields due to higher 3 attractiveness of AEI) are overlooked and very likely to explain the mixed impacts of AEI on natural enemy communities.

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Rodents, not birds, dominate predation-related ecosystem services and disservices in vertebrate communities of agricultural landscapes

Cited by 39 publications

References 57 publications

Effects of supplementary feed for game birds on activity of brown rats Rattus norvegicus on arable farms

Effects of supplementary feed for game birds on activity of brown rats Rattus norvegicus on arable farms

Predation‐mediated ecosystem services and disservices in agricultural landscapes

Promoting generalist predators of crop pests in alley cropping agroforestry fields: Farming system matters

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