Natural enemy-mediated indirect interactions among prey species: potential for enhancing biocontrol services in agroecosystems

A. Chailleux, E.K. Mohl, M. Teixeira Alves, G.J. Messelink, N. Desneux

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

89 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Understanding how arthropod pests and their natural enemies interact in complex agroecosystems is essential for pest management programmes. Theory predicts that prey sharing a predator, such as a biological control agent, can indirectly reduce each other's density at equilibrium (apparent competition). From this premise, we (i) discuss the complexity of indirect interactions among pests in agroecosystems and highlight the importance of natural enemy-mediated indirect interactions other than apparent competition, (ii) outline factors that affect the nature of enemy-mediated indirect interactions in the field and (iii) identify the way to manipulate enemy-mediated interactions for biological control. We argue that there is a need to increase the link between community ecology theory and biological control to develop better agroecological methods of crop protection via conservation biological control. In conclusion, we identify (i) interventions to be chosen depending on agroecosystem characteristics and (ii) several lines of research that will improve the potential for enemy-mediated indirect interactions to be applied to biological control. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1769-1779
JournalPest Management Science
Volume70
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

Keywords

  • quantitative food webs
  • improving biological-control
  • orius-insidiosus hemiptera
  • corn leaf aphid
  • apparent competition
  • alternative prey
  • intraguild predation
  • generalist predators
  • soybean aphid
  • macrolophus-caliginosus

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