Using camera-trapping to assess grape consumption by vertebrate pests in a World Heritage vineyard region

Lamelas-López, Lucas; Ferrante, Marco

doi:10.1007/s10340-020-01267-x

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Our observations are in line with other studies in tropical agroforestry systems [ 9 , 41 , 58 , 72 ], which showed a strong correlation between insectivorous bird abundance and bird predation on artificial mimics. Together, these results counter common perceptions by farmers of birds being only pests of crops [ 10 , 73 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

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Pest-removal services provided by birds on subsistence farms in south-eastern Nigeria

2021

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To what extent birds provide the ecosystem service of pest control in subsistence farms, and how this service might depend on retained natural habitats near farmlands is unexplored in West Africa. To fill this knowledge gap, we placed plasticine mimics of insect pests on experimentally grown crops on the Mambilla Plateau, South Eastern Nigeria. We recorded bird attacks on the mimics and the proportion of mimics removed by birds. We also determined the influence of distance of crops from forest fragments on both attack and removal rates. We placed 90 potted plants of groundnut (Arachis hypogea) and bambara nut (Vigna subterranea) along 15 transects running 4.5 km from forest edge into open grassland. Each plant had six of the 540 mimics in total placed on their leaves. We inspected the potted plants weekly for 12 weeks to record (i) the presence of bird beak marks on mimics, and (ii) the number of missing mimics. Once a week we collected all the mimics from the plants and counted the number of assumed beak marks. After counting we replaced the mimics on the plants, mark free. We found a strong positive correlation between the abundance of insectivorous birds and the mean number of missing mimics and/or bird attack marks on mimics. However, this positive effect of insectivorous bird abundance on prey mimic attack/removal became less strong the farther they were from a forest fragment. We found increased predation rates and abundance of insectivorous birds closer to forest fragments. Our data suggest that pest predation may be a key ecosystem service provided by insectivorous birds on Nigerian farmlands. Farmlands that are closer to forest fragments may experience a higher rate of pest control by insectivorous birds than those further away, suggesting that retaining forest fragments in the landscape may enhance pest control services in sub-Saharan subsistence farms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…However, to what extent birds positively control insect pest in African subsistence farms remains mostly unknown. Many farmers perceive birds as pests [ 10 , 11 ]. Thus, it is extremely important that the net effect of birds as insect predators in farmlands is quantified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pest-removal services provided by birds on subsistence farms in south-eastern Nigeria

2021

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“…Starlings were the most abundant bird species observed at the Whatcom County dairies each week. Despite the presence of other bird species that are known to be agricultural pests [36][37][38][39], starlings represented between 61% (week 3) and 90% (week 4) of all birds counted. The dominance of starlings as the most common avian pest species on Whatcom County dairies is consistent with previous data from surveys of Washington State dairy farmers [24,40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Use of Dairies as Overnight Roosts by Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Lichtenwalter

Steensma

Marcondes

et al. 2023

Birds

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The Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is an invasive bird species in North America that can cause damage to dairies. Starlings roost in structures on dairies overnight, defecating on cows, feed, and supplies. To target roosts for effective deterrence, farmers must know what times of the year starling populations are greatest. To test seasonality, two data sets were analyzed. First, birds were counted for 20–30 min at sunrise and sunset on 10 Whatcom County, Washington dairies over four weeks in September and October of 2016. Starling counts were greater in the last week of observations than in weeks one, two, and three. Second, birds were counted at sunset for four weeks during winter 2021 and spring and summer 2022 at two dairies in the Palouse region of Washington State and Idaho. As temperature and minutes of daylight decreased, bird abundance increased. There was also an effect of season, with more birds counted in winter and spring than in summer. These data sets combined suggest a seasonal use of dairies as night roosts by starlings. With this information, farmers in the United States will know to contact wildlife managers in the summer, so a starling deterrence strategy can be developed before roosts are established in the fall.

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The magpie and the grapes: increasing ozone exposure impacts fruit consumption by a common corvid in a suburban environment

Viviano,

Mori,

Manzini

et al. 2023

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUNDThe Eurasian magpie Pica pica is a resident bird species able to colonize farmlands and anthropized environments. This corvid shows a wide trophic spectrum by including fruits, invertebrates, small vertebrates, and carcasses in its diet. A camera‐trap experiment has been carried out to test the effect of different ozone (O3) concentrations on potted Vitis vinifera plants, which result in different grape consumption rates by suburban birds. The test was performed at an Ozone‐Free Air Controlled Exposure (FACE) facility, consisting of nine plots with three O3 levels where AA is ambient O3 concentration and two elevated O3 levels (ambient air with a 50% increase in O3 concentration, 1.5x AA; and ambient air with a 100% increase in O3 concentration, 2.0x AA). Camera‐traps were located in front of each treatment area and kept active for 24 h/day and for 5‐day periods throughout a total of 3 months to monitor grape consumption by birds.RESULTSWe collected a total of 38 videos: Eurasian magpies were the only grape consumers, with a total of 6.7 ± 3.3 passages per hour (mean ± SD), with no differences across different O3 treatments. The grapes in the AA treatment were consumed significantly faster than those in the 1.5x AA treatment, which were, in turn, consumed faster than those in the 2.0x AA treatment. After 3 days from the start of treatment, 94, 53 and 22% berries from AA, 1.5x AA, and 2.0x AA treatments were eaten, respectively. When the O3 was turned off, berries were consumed at the same rate among treatments.CONCLUSIONIncreasing O3 concentrations limited grape consumption by the magpie likely because O3 acted as a deterrent for magpies, while the lower sugar content recorded in the 2.0x AA berries did not affect the consumption when O3 was turned off. Our results provided valuable insights to mitigate human‐wildlife conflicts in suburban environments.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Using camera-trapping to assess grape consumption by vertebrate pests in a World Heritage vineyard region

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

Pest-removal services provided by birds on subsistence farms in south-eastern Nigeria

Pest-removal services provided by birds on subsistence farms in south-eastern Nigeria

Seasonal Use of Dairies as Overnight Roosts by Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

The magpie and the grapes: increasing ozone exposure impacts fruit consumption by a common corvid in a suburban environment

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