Bottom-up and top-down drivers of herbivory on Arabica coffee along an environmental and management gradient

Burger, H.F.; Hylander, Kristoffer; Ayalew, Biruk; Dam, Nicole M. van; Mendesil, Esayas; Schedl, Andreas; Shimales, Tamiru; Zewdie, Beyene; Tack, Ayco J. M.

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2021.12.009

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Most studies investigating top-down predatory control of herbivorous insects and carnivorous prey employ indirect approaches, such as examining the level of herbivory damage or observing changes in the predator community (Howe et al 2009; Burger et al 2022). These methods are used because direct measurement of predator-prey interactions can be challenging in the field (Lövei and Ferrante 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator types, urbanization, and tree cover drive top-down control of herbivorous and carnivorous preys in an urban agroecosystem

Lidasan,

Roquero,

Balasa

et al. 2023

Écoscience

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Prey-predator interactions hold significant importance, widely acknowledged as crucial processes within ecosystems. Yet, there is a scarcity of empirical data that effectively illustrates the influence of urbanization on such interactions. We performed a common garden experiment utilizing 1250 clay models to assess the predation risks faced by herbivorous and carnivorous prey in an urban agroecosystem in the southern Philippines. Our findings revealed significant differences in attack risks between the trophic levels, with herbivorous caterpillars (n = 246; 53.25%) experiencing higher predation rates compared to carnivorous lizards (n = 216; 46.75%). Interestingly, while the trophic level of the prey did not directly predict predation risk, the presence of predators showed significant effects. Arthropods emerged as the dominant predators of herbivorous prey compared to other predators, whereas mammalian predators predominantly attacked carnivorous prey. The landscape variable also had a strong influence on the risk of predation. We found that increasing tree cover was significantly related to increased predation risk, while built-up showed the opposite. Our research findings support the 'increasing disturbance hypothesis', suggesting that rising urbanization rates reduce predator diversity, resulting in a decrease and loss of predation pressure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator types, urbanization, and tree cover drive top-down control of herbivorous and carnivorous preys in an urban agroecosystem

Lidasan,

Roquero,

Balasa

et al. 2023

Écoscience

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“…3a : top). Although coffee has many secondary substances in its tissues, presumably to counteract herbivores, pathogens and other negative interactions, it is still attacked by various species of herbivores including both specialists and generalists 70 , 71 . For example, several specialized moths attack the coffee leaves, of which the coffee blotch miner Leucoptera caffeina is the most abundant 72 .…”

Section: Lesson 2: Explore the Mechanisms Underpinning Relationships ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from Ethiopian coffee landscapes for global conservation in a post-wild world

Hylander,

Nemomissa,

Fischer

et al. 2024

Commun Biol

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The reality for conservation of biodiversity across our planet is that all ecosystems are modified by humans in some way or another. Thus, biodiversity conservation needs to be implemented in multifunctional landscapes. In this paper we use a fascinating coffee-dominated landscape in southwest Ethiopia as our lens to derive general lessons for biodiversity conservation in a post-wild world. Considering a hierarchy of scales from genes to multi-species interactions and social-ecological system contexts, we focus on (i) threats to the genetic diversity of crop wild relatives, (ii) the mechanisms behind trade-offs between biodiversity and agricultural yields, (iii) underexplored species interactions suppressing pest and disease levels, (iv) how the interactions of climate change and land-use change sometimes provide opportunities for restoration, and finally, (v) how to work closely with stakeholders to identify scenarios for sustainable development. The story on how the ecology and evolution of coffee within its indigenous distribution shape biodiversity conservation from genes to social-ecological systems can inspire us to view other landscapes with fresh eyes. The ubiquitous presence of human-nature interactions demands proactive, creative solutions to foster biodiversity conservation not only in remote protected areas but across entire landscapes inhabited by people.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ant exclosures are difficult to conduct (Hood et al, 2022; Rosumek et al, 2009); thus, bait removal is often considered as a proxy of predation (e.g. Burger et al, 2021; Liu et al, 2020; Roslin et al, 2017). Unfortunately, this method may not accurately measure the realized top‐down control and trophic cascade to plants from ants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertebrates, but not ants, protect rainforest from herbivorous insects across elevations in Papua New Guinea

Sam

Jorge

Koane

et al. 2023

Journal of Biogeography

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AimThe effects of insectivorous predators on herbivorous prey should have a cascading effect releasing herbivory pressure and favouring plant's biomass. However, it remains unclear whether different types of predators regulate herbivores to the same degree across seasons, and how their interactions affect lower trophic levels across elevations where predator communities differ significantly. Therefore, we investigated the impact of excluding flying vertebrate predators and ants (individually and in combination) on arthropods and herbivory across tropical seasons along a rainforest gradient spanning 3500 m a.s.l.LocationPapua New Guinea.TaxonMulti‐taxon.MethodsWe excluded predators from 560 saplings in two 6‐month‐long predator exclusion experiments, controlling for seasonality. Saplings were spread across eight sites, evenly spaced at 500 m elevational increments from 200 to 3700 m a.s.l. We measured change in the abundance of arthropods and herbivory damage and analysed them by linear and generalized linear mixed models.ResultsExclusion of flying vertebrate predators, but not ants, led to a significant increase in both arthropod density and herbivory damage. The density of arthropods increased significantly by 37% when flying vertebrates were excluded and by 33% when both flying vertebrates and ants were excluded. Both season and elevation significantly influenced this effect. Leaf damage increased significantly by 50% in exclosures of flying vertebrates alone and by 36% in combined exclosures of flying vertebrates and ants. In contrast, the exclusion of ants alone had no significant effect on arthropod density or leaf damage, which increased by 12% and 9%, respectively, although the effect decreased with increasing elevation.Main conclusionsThe overall effect of flying vertebrate predators on arthropod density and leaf damage remains consistently strong along the whole elevational gradient. In contrast, ant‐driven trophic cascades were detected only in lowland. Disappearance of insectivorous flying vertebrates could lead to substantial negative consequences for plants.

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Bottom-up and top-down drivers of herbivory on Arabica coffee along an environmental and management gradient

Cited by 6 publications

References 69 publications

Predator types, urbanization, and tree cover drive top-down control of herbivorous and carnivorous preys in an urban agroecosystem

Predator types, urbanization, and tree cover drive top-down control of herbivorous and carnivorous preys in an urban agroecosystem

Lessons from Ethiopian coffee landscapes for global conservation in a post-wild world

Vertebrates, but not ants, protect rainforest from herbivorous insects across elevations in Papua New Guinea

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