The Need to Quantify Ecosystem Services Provided by Birds

Wenny, Daniel G.; DeVault, Travis L.; Johnson, Matthew D.; Kelly, Dave; Şekercioǧlu, Çaǧan H.; Tomback, Diana F.; Whelan, Christopher J.

doi:10.1525/auk.2011.10248

Cited by 284 publications

(234 citation statements)

References 195 publications

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“…Birds may nest or roost in forest patches and venture into the farm edge to forage (Jirinec et al 2011). This finding underscores that adjacent habitat can contribute to the delivery of an ecosystem service by mobile organisms (Kellermann et al 2008, Wenny et al 2011, Karp et al 2013, and can provide an incentive for habitat protection near farm edges. However, other landscape variables, including fragment size and the amount of forested area within a given radius, were not associated with pest control.…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Arthropod variables included total abundance, diversity and average size. with regards to agriculture, has gained increasing awareness (Daily 1997, Bianchi et al 2006, Sekercioglu 2006, Van Bael et al 2008, Jedlicka et al 2011, Wenny et al 2011, Tscharntke et al 2012. Ecosystem services are defined broadly as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems and are divided into four categories: cultural, provisioning, supporting, and regulating (MEA 2005).…”

Section: List Of Tablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By encouraging the provisioning of ecosystem services, including pest control, farmers could decrease their reliance on costly chemical inputs. Birds are highly mobile and, with over 50% of all species primarily insectivorous, are ideal providers of pest control services (Wenny et al 2011). Birds have been shown to decrease insects in a variety of systems (Bock et al 1992, Mols and Visser 2002, Kellermann et al 2008, Jedlicka et al 2011, Karp et al 2013.…”

Section: List Of Tablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying pest control services by birds and ants in Kenyan coffee farms

Milligan

Johnson

Garfinkel

et al. 2016

Biological Conservation

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QUANTIFYING PEST CONTROL SERVICES BY BIRDS AND ANTS IN KENYAN COFFEE FARMS Megan MilliganEcosystem services, such as pest control and pollination, are critical benefits of biodiversity necessary for agricultural production. Predators, including insectivorous birds and ants, can provide important biological controls in agroecosystems, boosting crop yield and helping to offset the need for expensive inputs such as pesticides. With agricultural demand projected to increase in the future, two broad management strategies, termed land sparing and land sharing, have been proposed to conserve biodiversity while still meeting increased agricultural demand. Understanding the related impacts of habitat and landscape characteristics on the delivery of ecosystem services can better inform managers seeking to promote these benefits of biodiversity. In order to better understand these relationships, I conducted a sentinel pest experiment to investigate predation levels in response to a novel pest on coffee farms in central Kenya. The frequency of predation decreased significantly with increasing distance from adjacent forest fragments and was correlated with bird species richness. Predation was also significantly higher on shade compared to sun coffee farms. The mechanism through which the bird and ant communities are effecting pest removal is less clear, but encouraging particular preferential predators could positively influence pest control. In conclusion, a land sharing approach, via both the integration of shade trees and the conservation of small ii forest fragments within a farm, can support increased levels of pest control services provided by both birds and ants in Kenyan coffee farms.iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 63%

Section: List Of Tablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: List Of Tablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying pest control services by birds and ants in Kenyan coffee farms

Milligan

Johnson

Garfinkel

et al. 2016

Biological Conservation

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In studies reporting data concerning both abundance and presence, the effects identified are similar in all cases [60] [64] [65]. A recent review of the ecosystem services provided by birds concluded that a variety of insectivorous species are required to control insect outbreaks [68]. In contrast, if a single species is able to dominate an area to the exclusion of others, insect abundance may increase [27].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Avian Biodiversity and a Weedy Understorey on Canopy Arthropod Assembly

Lambert¹,

Andrew²,

McDonald³

2014

OJE

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Identifying the factor causing species decline from a multitude of potential disturbances is essential for successful management. Invasive species are often drivers of decline, either through direct effects such as recruitment limitation, or through indirect effects such as habitat modification that facilitate biota changes in other taxa. In this study, we tested the importance of bird predation on arthropods in eucalypt canopies in wet sclerophyll forest that had been invaded by the understorey weed Lantana camara. A strong top-down effect is in agreement with studies that show elevated numbers of insectivorous birds, such as the despotic bell miner, Manorina melanophrys, reduce damaging herbivorous insect numbers and their effect on tree health. Abundance, order and family composition were compared among sites, feeding guilds, among the presence and absence of a despotic bird, and among presence and absence within sites, using a three-way nested Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), and tested our representation of insect feeding guilds with rarefaction curves. In total, we found arthropods from 20 families on eucalypt trees, 16 where bell miners were present and 18 where they were absent (a sampling efficiency of 78% and 92% of families based on the Chao-I index). Overall, there was a difference in the abundance of insects in areas where bell miners were present (n = 181), and where they were absent (n = 67). There was also a difference in the families present in areas with bell miners and without them. Under some conditions, despotic birds may not change the insect canopy community. Further studies should examine the effects of a despotic bird on the insect canopy community in a variety of conditions and throughout their range.

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“…For example, frugivorous birds have been recorded to cause significant economic losses to vineyards (Tracey et al, 2007;Canavelli et al, 2014), while insectivorous birds have been documented to control arthropod pests in agricultural contexts (Wenny et al, 2011;Ceia and Ramos, 2014). Similarly, while insects are among the most relevant grape pests, some insects have also been shown to be beneficial for vineyard productivity, i.e., the auxiliary insects (Bournier, 1976;Jonsson et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of native biodiversity on grape loss of four castes: testing the biotic resistance hypothesis

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Management of agricultural landscapes can influence the biodiversity and the ecological services provided by these ecosystems, such as natural biological pest control. Viticulture is a very important economic activity in most countries with Mediterranean climate, often shaping their landscapes and culture. Grape production is affected by a number of pests and diseases, and farmers use prophylactic and response-driven pesticides to control these pests. Here we quantified the main biotic causes of crop losses in four grape castes, two red (Touriga Nacional and Baga) and two white (Arinto and Chardonnay), and evaluated the potential effect of native biodiversity to provide biotic resistance to pest outbreaks and grape losses. Specifically, the diversity and abundance of bird and insect communities in these vineyards were quantified and divided into functional guilds (pest, neutral or auxiliary), to test whether these natural communities hold the potential to naturally control grape pests (biotic resistance hypothesis) under normal vineyard management (including pesticide application regimes). A potential association between distance to the vineyard edge and grape losses was also evaluated. We recorded a very small proportion of grape losses (mean = 0.6 %; max = 7.5 %), with insect pests showing a preference for the castes Baga (red) and Chardonnay (white), while bird pests avoided the caste Arinto (white). Grape color did not influence losses caused by insect pests, but birds showed a preference for red castes. The caste Baga was also more vulnerable to losses caused by fungi. Despite their low impact on grape production, most insects and birds detected in the six vineyards were pests, which entails a potentially low level of biotic resistance in this highly managed agricultural ecosystem. Further research is necessary to fully evaluate the role of functional biodiversity in vineyards, particularly if alternative production processes, such as organic farming, can increase the potential of native biodiversity to protect against grape losses from pests under lower regimes of chemical spraying.

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The Need to Quantify Ecosystem Services Provided by Birds

Cited by 284 publications

References 195 publications

Quantifying pest control services by birds and ants in Kenyan coffee farms

Quantifying pest control services by birds and ants in Kenyan coffee farms

The Influence of Avian Biodiversity and a Weedy Understorey on Canopy Arthropod Assembly

Effects of native biodiversity on grape loss of four castes: testing the biotic resistance hypothesis

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