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In the current “tiered” paradigm for evaluating risks of insecticidal products, one of the first decisions that must be made is the selection of indicator species to be used in toxicity assays. However, as yet, no formal system has been developed to determine whether proposed indicator species are relevant to the ecology of the crop system where the product will be released. Here, we propose a protocol...
Agroecosystems undergo disturbance early in the season and host simple food webs that are often comprised of pests, generalist predators, and alternative prey. This is a critical time because predator: pest ratios are highest, in favor of predators, and most likely to affect the trajectory of pest populations, a concept we describe as early season predation. Conservation biological control of these...
Agroecosystems occupy large areas of the land surface and arable soil food webs are of significant importance for global cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). In a field experiment we labeled maize plants (Zea mays L.) in 13CO2 atmosphere and by K15NO3 fertilization. During 25days, the incorporation of 13C and 15N was traced in plant compartments, soil and soil arthropods, as well as 13C in microbial...
Modern monocultural agro-ecosystems can be perceived as a simplification of natural ecosystems, where a single plant species is usually grown over vast areas. In these systems, it has historically been assumed that the concept of a food chain can describe the relationships between an insect pest and a single biocontrol agent. In reality, multiple potentially complex ecological interactions are involved,...
Organic carbon (C) released from living roots forms a major resource for microorganisms controlling energy, C pathways and, hence, food web structure and dynamics. However, knowledge on quantitative C fluxes into food web compartments is scarce. Nematodes, with functional groups at each trophic level, served as a model community for assessing root C fluxes into the micro-food web. Maize, grown on...
This special issue comprises seven papers: one review, one opinion and five experimental papers. Together, these articles illustrate how molecular tools and isotope analyses are improving our understanding of food-web structure and dynamics in agricultural systems. The papers collated here make use of the PCR-based DNA barcoding approach, protein-marking ELISA and the analysis of isotopic ratios to...
The feeding habits of the generalist arthropod predators in agroecosystems are often difficult to determine, as they are small, mobile and live among the vegetation or in the soil. DNA-based gut-content analysis is a powerful tool that enables the study of arthropod predator–prey interactions. Predation on two of the main pests of Mediterranean lettuce crops, the lettuce aphid, Nasonovia ribisnigri,...
Many generalist insect predators engage in facultative scavenging. If an apparent predator frequently consumes dead prey instead of live prey then the biological control services provided by that predator may be overestimated. The use of unique protein markers on live and dead prey of the same species followed by gut content analysis of the predators is an effective method to distinguish between scavenging...
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