Effects of Natural Enemy Biodiversity on the Suppression of Arthropod Herbivores in Terrestrial Ecosystems

Claims about the role of predator diversity in maintaining ecosystem function and providing ecosystem services such as pest control are controversial, but evaluative tests are beginning to accumulate. Empirical and experimental comparisons of species-rich versus species-poor assemblages of entomopha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics evolution, and systematics, 2009-12, Vol.40 (1), p.573-592
Main Authors: Letourneau, Deborah K, Jedlicka, Julie A, Bothwell, Sara G, Moreno, Carlo R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
arthropod pests
Arthropods
Biodiversity
Biological and medical sciences
Biological clocks
Comparative analysis
Ecological function
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Effects
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Herbivores
insect ecology
insect pests
literature reviews
Meta-analysis
Mortality
Natural enemies
Parasitoids
Pest control
phytophagous insects
plant-insect relations
Predation
predator-prey relationships
Predators
predatory arthropods
predatory insects
Species
Species diversity
Synecology
Temperate zones
Terrestrial ecosystems
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Summary:Claims about the role of predator diversity in maintaining ecosystem function and providing ecosystem services such as pest control are controversial, but evaluative tests are beginning to accumulate. Empirical and experimental comparisons of species-rich versus species-poor assemblages of entomophagous arthropods and vertebrates range from strong suppression to facilitative release of herbivorous arthropod prey. Top-down control can be strengthened when natural enemies complement each other, dampened by negative interactions, balanced by both factors, and driven by single influential species. A meta-analytic synthesis shows a significant overall effect of enemy richness increasing top-down control of herbivores, which is consistent in agricultural studies conducted in tropical versus temperate zones, in studies using caged versus open-field designs, but not so in nonagricultural habitats. Synthetic analyses address theory and help set precautionary policy for conserving ecological services broadly, while characterizing uncertainty associated with herbivore response to changes in enemy diversity.
ISSN:1543-592X
1545-2069
DOI:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120320