Monagan Ivan V, Morris Jonathan R, Davis Rabosky Alison R, Perfecto Ivette, Vandermeer John
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA; Museum of Zoology University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA.
School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA.
Ecol Evol. 2017 Mar 2;7(7):2193-2203. doi: 10.1002/ece3.2806. eCollection 2017 Apr.
Our knowledge of ecological interactions that bolster ecosystem function and productivity has broad applications to the management of agricultural systems. Studies suggest that the presence of generalist predators in agricultural landscapes leads to a decrease in the abundance of herbivorous pests, but our understanding of how these interactions vary across taxa and along gradients of management intensity and eco-geographic space remains incomplete. In this study, we assessed the functional response and biocontrol potential of a highly ubiquitous insectivore (lizards in the genus ) on the world's most important coffee pest, the coffee berry borer (). We conducted field surveys and laboratory experiments to examine the impact of land-use intensification on species richness and abundance of anoles and the capacity of anoles to reduce berry borer infestations in mainland and island coffee systems. Our results show that anoles significantly reduce coffee infestation rates in laboratory settings (Mexico, = .03, = 5.13 = 1, 35; Puerto Rico, = .014, = 8.82, = 1, 10) and are capable of consuming coffee berry borers in high abundance. Additionally, diversified agroecosystems bolster anole abundance, while high-intensity practices, including the reduction of vegetation complexity and the application of agrochemicals were associated with reduced anole abundance. The results of this study provide supporting evidence of the positive impact of generalist predators on the control of crop pests in agricultural landscapes, and the role of diversified agroecosystems in sustaining both functionally diverse communities and crop production in tropical agroecosystems.
我们对促进生态系统功能和生产力的生态相互作用的了解，在农业系统管理中具有广泛应用。研究表明，农业景观中存在广食性捕食者会导致食草害虫数量减少，但我们对这些相互作用如何在不同分类群之间以及沿着管理强度和生态地理空间梯度变化的理解仍不完整。在本研究中，我们评估了一种高度常见的食虫动物（属蜥蜴）对世界上最重要的咖啡害虫——咖啡果小蠹的功能反应和生物防治潜力。我们进行了实地调查和实验室实验，以研究土地利用集约化对大陆和岛屿咖啡系统中安乐蜥物种丰富度和数量的影响，以及安乐蜥减少咖啡果小蠹侵扰的能力。我们的结果表明，安乐蜥在实验室环境中显著降低了咖啡的侵扰率（墨西哥，=0.03，=5.13，=1，35；波多黎各，=0.014，=8.82，=1，10），并且能够大量捕食咖啡果小蠹。此外，多样化的农业生态系统增加了安乐蜥的数量，而包括植被复杂性降低和农用化学品施用在内的高强度做法与安乐蜥数量减少有关。本研究结果为广食性捕食者对农业景观中作物害虫控制的积极影响，以及多样化农业生态系统在维持热带农业生态系统中功能多样的群落和作物生产方面的作用提供了支持性证据。
