Relevance of the ecological traits of parasitoid wasps and nectariferous plants for conservation biological control: a hybrid meta‐analysis

Abstract

BACKGROUND Ecosystem services are key to human survival. In agriculture, they offer potential to intensify production while reducing reliance on hazardous inputs, including pesticides. Nectar plants can nourish natural enemies of pests and thereby promote the ecosystem service of biological control. To date, however, the selection of optimal plants has been reliant on laborious testing of multiple candidate species for use in each new agroecosystem. We report a hybrid meta‐analysis of published literature, employing Bayesian network analysis. RESULTS The hybrid meta‐analysis identified the particular plant and parasitoid traits that were most predictive of promoted or suppressed parasitoid longevity. Integrating trait effects identified a combination of plant‐parasitoid traits that had the highest impact on parasitoid longevity: compound umbel or raceme inflorescence form and shallow corolla, together with high potential fecundity of the parasitoid. CONCLUSION Unlike earlier analyses focusing on taxonomic categories, we analyzed effect sizes in relation to the ecological traits of parasitoids and plants. This generated the first generalizable guidelines for selecting nectar plants as well as appropriate parasitoid targets for the enhancement of biological control. Within the guidelines, optimal outcomes resulted when plants with compound umbel or raceme inflorescences and shallow corollas were combined with fecund parasitoids. More widely, this type of ecological trait‐based meta‐analysis opens a new avenue for optimizing the delivery of other types of ecosystem services. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

The diversity of aphid parasitoids inEast Africaand implications for biological control

“…Conservation methods include the use of floral resources to increase parasitoid efficacy, longevity and fecundity, [22][23][24][25] although these floral resource plants need to be chosen carefully to benefit important parasitoids and not pest species. 23,26,27 The aim of the present study was to use DNA barcoding of the mitochondrial COI gene to identify parasitoids of Aphis fabae across three countries in East Africa, which could provide information about the genetic diversity of parasitoid species at a regional scale as well as inform future biological control. The crop systems used in the study were common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Malawi and Tanzania and lablab (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet) in Kenya.…”

Prospects for habitat management to suppress vegetable pests in Australia

“…The plants used in overseas studies represent a tiny fraction of the plant kingdom, and a wider range of species needs to be investigated and guiding principles for their use developed. A recent attempt at resolving this issue has been to assess candidate flowering plants from the perspective of their ecological traits (rather than their taxonomy) (Zhu et al 2020). Whilst that work generated some generalisable findings, e.g.…”

“…Whilst that work generated some generalisable findings, e.g. plants with compound umbel or raceme inflorescences and shallow corollas showed positive influence on parasitoid longevity (Zhu et al 2020), it was hampered by the lack of available data for many ecological traits that are likely to be important.…”

“…A recent attempt at resolving this issue has been to assess candidate flowering plants from the perspective of their ecological traits (rather than their taxonomy) (Zhu et al . 2020). Whilst that work generated some generalisable findings, e.g.…”

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