Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Biological Control

Name of Author

Kris A.G. Wyckhuys, Chrysalis Consulting
Komivi S. Akutse, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
Divina M. Amalin, De La Salle University
Salah Eddin Araj, The University of Jordan
Gloria Barrera, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, AGROSAVIA
Marie Joy B. Beltran, University of the Philippines Los Banos
Ibtissem Ben Fekih, Université de Liège
Paul André Calatayud, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
Lizette Cicero, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias
Marcellin C. Cokola, Université de Liège
Yelitza C. Colmenarez, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho"
Kenza Dessauvages, Université de Liège
Thomas Dubois, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
Léna Durocher-Granger, CAB International
Carlos Espinel, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, AGROSAVIA
José L. Fernández-Triana, Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes
Frederic Francis, Université de Liège
Juliana Gómez, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, AGROSAVIA
Khalid Haddi, Universidade Federal de Lavras
Rhett D. Harrison, CIFOR-ICRAF
Muhammad Haseeb, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Natasha S.A. Iwanicki, Universidade de São Paulo
Lara R. Jaber, The University of Jordan
Fathiya M. Khamis, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
Jesusa C. Legaspi, United States Department of Agriculture
Refugio J. Lomeli-Flores, Posgrado en Fitosanidad
Rogerio B. Lopes, Embrapa Recursos Geneticos e Biotecnologia
Baoqian Lyu, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences

Publication Date

11-1-2024

Abstract

Ecosystem functions such as biological pest control are mediated by the richness and abundance of service providers i.e., biological control agents (BCAs), relative contributions of individual taxa and community structure. This is especially relevant in the native range of agricultural herbivores, where a speciose community of co-evolved BCAs can prevent them from attaining pest status. Here, we use a powerful graphical approach to assess the functional structure of BCA communities of the fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on maize in the Neotropics. Drawing upon a curated database of all-time field and laboratory studies, we graphed patterns in the functional contribution, abundance and niche breadth for a respective 69, 53 and 3 taxa of resident parasitoids, predators and pathogens. Regardless of varying taxon coverage and rigor of the underlying studies, functional structure follows a saturating relationship in which the first three taxa account for 90–98% of aggregate biological control function. Abundance-functionality matrices prove critically incomplete, as more than 80% of invertebrate taxa miss empirically derived efficiency metrics while associated FAW infestation data are scarce. Despite its methodological shortfalls and data gaps, our work pinpoints Chelonus insularis, several taxa of egg parasitoids, Doru spp. and Orius spp. as taxa with outsized (average) functionality and conservation potential. This is also exemplified by the highly variable aggregate function across studies, with dispersion indices of 1.52 and 2.14 for invertebrate BCAs. Our work underlines the critical importance of functional ecology research, networked trials and standardized methodologies in advancing conservation biological control globally.

Keywords

Agroecology, Biodiversity conservation, Biodiversity – ecosystem functioning, Ecological intensification, Functional ecology, Species richness

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