定量评价天敌控害功能的生态能学方法

由于昆虫的能量完全来自于寄主,因此昆虫摄入的能量相当于食物的被取食消耗量。生态能量学方法的基本原理就是捕食性天敌完全依靠捕食猎物(害虫)而获取能量。显然,捕食性天敌摄入的能量就相当于为猎物(害虫)的被捕食消耗量,也即是捕食性天敌摄入量等于猎物(害虫)的被捕食消耗量。由此,可通过研究捕食性天敌和害虫种群的能量动态,定量分析捕食性天敌对害虫的控制作用。本文详细论述了生态能量学方法的基本原理、测算方法,并以棉田捕食性瓢虫类捕食作用为例,介绍了该方法的应用,为定量评价天敌的控害作用提供了一种新方法。     

稻田穗期主要捕食性天敌对两种盲蝽集团内捕食的初步研究

【目的】集团内捕食是影响农业系统广食性天敌对靶标害虫控制作用的重要因素,全面揭示稻田广食性天敌对稻飞虱重要天敌黑肩绿盲蝽Cyrtorhinus lividipennis Reuter和中华淡翅盲蝽Tytthus chinensis(St?l)(半翅目:盲蝽科)的集团内捕食作用有助于更好地保护利用天敌。【方法】建立以两种盲蝽为猎物对象的种特异性二重定量PCR系统,检测比较不同抗性品种穗期田间主要捕食者对两种盲蝽的集团内捕食作用。【结果】(1)本研究建立的二重定量PCR具有的物种专化性,两种检测靶标灵敏度高且相似,可用于田间捕食者猎物分析;(2)感虫水稻品种上捕食者对盲蝽的捕食强度高于抗性水稻品种;不同种类捕食者对盲蝽的集团内捕食强度有显著差异;捕食者对黑肩绿盲蝽集团内捕食强度显著高于中华淡翅盲蝽。【结论】捕食性盲蝽在稻田生态系统遭遇集团内捕食,其集团内捕食强度与水稻品种抗性、捕食者种类和猎物丰富度有关。     

转基因抗虫作物对捕食性瓢虫的安全性研究进展

转基因抗虫作物的商业化种植带来了显著的经济、生态和社会效益,对转基因抗虫作物的安全性评价也一直是国内外学者研究的热点。对生物非靶标效应的研究是转基因抗虫作物安全性评价的重要组成部分,农田天敌类生物是其中的重点内容之一。瓢虫是农田生态系统重要的捕食性天敌,评价其在转基因抗虫作物田间是否能通过捕食猎物或取食花粉而接触到杀虫蛋白并富集于体内,进而对自身产生一定的非靶标效应,这对捕食性瓢虫的安全性研究具有重要的意义。本文从捕食性天敌瓢虫的生命表参数、行为功能参数、田间群落参数及体内微环境指标等方面综述了转基因抗虫作物对瓢虫的安全性研究进展,并对后期转基因抗虫作物对田间捕食性天敌的研究方向提出了建议,以期为转基因抗虫作物的环境安全性研究提供理论指导和为进一步完善转基因抗虫作物对瓢虫安全性评价的技术体系提供系统的数据资料。     

应用多层次结构的功能反应模型比较捕食螨对不同猎物的捕食行为

在害虫生物防治研究中,选择适合的天敌种类或类型是能否有效控制害虫的关键.虽然传统的功能反应试验能够为评价天敌的捕食行为与猎物(或寄主)密度的关系提供有益的依据,但不能根据这些结果对天敌捕食能力进行统计比较.本文在Michaelis-Menten模型的基础上,提出多级层次结构的功能反应模型,使试验习子(如天敌类型、猎物种类等)对捕食行为的影响,表达为模型参数的改变.并根据Ibralim和Rahman(1997)发表的12组功能反应试验结果,应用这一多层次结构模型统计比较不同天敌类型的捕食行为、及猎物种类、猎物生长期对试验结果的影响.取得如下结论:1.根据模型预测值与试验观测结果的吻合程度及模型误差的分布,说明以Michaelis-Menton为基础的多层次结构的功能反应模型能够用于统计比较捕食螨种类间的捕食行为,以及猎物类型、猎物生长阶段和其它环境因子对天敌捕食行为的影响作用.2.这一模型的分析结果不仅从统计角度证实了Ibahim和Rahman(1997)的推测,即红色叶螨是更适于这种捕食螨的猎物.同时为捕食螨种类的选择及田间释放技术提供统计依据.     

应用肠道内含物定量评价天敌捕食作用的方法

【目的】自然天敌在农田生态系统中发挥着重要的生物功能,明确捕食性天敌对害虫猎物的控制能力是充分发挥天敌控制作用的前提。【方法】本文基于肠道内含物分子检测方法,以华北花生与玉米组成的微景观系统中的花生/玉米-花生蚜-龟纹瓢虫为研究主线,对龟纹瓢虫Propylaeajaponica肠道内含物进行了分子检测。【结果】结合室内和大田取样两种途径,通过测定龟纹瓢虫肠道内含物中花生蚜的阳性检出率,显示龟纹瓢虫体内检测到花生蚜的扩增,阳性检出率最高时达到26.25%。【结论】基于天敌肠道内含物的分子标记技术可作为定量评价田间实际天敌控害作用的有效方法之一,玉米作为功能植物(作物)可通过涵养天敌瓢虫实现对花生蚜的控制作用。     

不同类型棉田捕食性天敌的种群能量动态及其对害虫的控制作用

为充分发挥棉田捕食性天敌的生态调控作用,本文根据田间调查与室内测定的结果,以能量为统一单位,计算出了棉田捕食性瓢虫、蝽类、蜘蛛及所有捕食性天敌类种群的能流参数值,分析和比较了不同播种期、套间作和免耕法对棉田捕食性天敌种群能量获取利用的作用特点,总结出了各类天敌在不同类型棉田对害虫的控制作用规律,评价了它们在棉田生态系统中的作用与地位。     

南方小花蝽对猎物——棉蚜密度的反应

<正> 南方小花蝽Orius silimis Zheng在湖北棉区是棉花害虫重要的捕食性天敌。据田间调查,其发生数量占棉田捕食性天敌总量的11.7—26.5%,且捕食范围广,能捕食棉蚜和多种棉虫。我们于1985年对南方小花蝽在猎物不同密度下的捕食效应及其与生长发育的关系进行了初步研究,现将结果初报如下。     

定量评价捕食性天敌功能——单克隆抗体技术

如何将定性捕食的数据转化为定量的数据是评价捕食性天敌功能的一大挑战。酶联免疫吸附测定(Ezyme-linked immunosorbent assay,ELISA)成功地解决了这一难题。该ELISA具有灵敏度高、成本低、操作简便、可大批量检测样品等独特的优点,即使20世纪末以来大规模应用的聚合酶链式反应(Polymerase chain reaction,PCR)及新一代测序技术应用,也并未完全取代ELISA。由于单抗具有高度特异性和均质性,同时结合了ELISA检测方法具有成本低、大批量样品快速检测等优点,在很大程度上改进了节肢动物捕食作用的研究方法。本文以利用褐飞虱Nilaparvata lugens单抗评价稻田拟环纹豹蛛Pardosa pseudoannulata对褐飞虱的控制作用为例,阐述基于单抗的ELISA检测技术用于捕食作用评价的技术路线及应用前景等。     

应用DNA条形码构建天敌-猎物食物网的方法

定量构建天敌-猎物食物网是有效开展害虫管理的基础.常用的食物网构建方法有单克隆抗体法、肠道内容物的PCR检测法、实时荧光定量PCR法等.这些方法灵敏度高、特异性强,但只能定性或定量检测天敌对已知猎物物种,即已明确捕食或寄生关系的物种的捕食情况,并不能检测未明确捕食或寄生关系的猎物种类和捕食量.而DNA条形码是一段具有物...     

节肢动物田间捕食作用的研究方法

捕食性节肢动物是自然生态系统和农田生态系统中的重要组成部分,其种类和数量非常丰富,对其捕食作用的研家,无疑对了解和充分发挥捕食性节肢动物的自然控制作用具有重要的意义．评价捕食者在调节种群和群落结构方面的作用通常是困难的[1]。目前对节肢动物捕食作用的研究,一般多是在实验室内进行,而室内的条件与田间相差甚远,不能真实反映田间的捕食情况。在自然条件下通常存在多种捕食者和多种猎物,它们之间的关系极其复杂。因此,本文对节肢动物田间捕食作用的研究方法做一简要综述,以供参考。1直挂观宠法捕食作用的直接观察经常是…     

The population consequences of natural enemy enhancement,and implications for conservation biological control

We explore models for the management of invertebrate pests by enhancing the efficacy or local abundance of existing natural enemies. Different aspects of natural enemy biology had different effects on prey density. Enhancement of enemy search rate or prey conversion efficiency showed the greatest potential for reducing prey density, while maximum consumption rate by predators, and parasitoid fecundity, had less effect. The effect on prey density of increased natural enemy longevity depended on its interaction with other parameters. The degree of manipulation needed to achieve a given reduction in prey populations was largely determined by the enemy's potential reproductive rate. Spatial ‘‘attraction’’ of enemies to a target site had an almost linear effect on local prey density. We conclude that successful conservation biological control benefits from a directed approach, targeting the most important aspects of natural enemy ecology, and that there is considerable potential for further research in this area.     

Intercropping hampers the nocturnal biological control of aphids

Increasing plant diversity in agroecosystems (i.e. intercropping) has been widely accepted as a means of promoting conservation biological control of mites and insect pests. Nevertheless, the contribution from underlying mechanisms such as the provision of non‐prey alternative food (i.e. pollen and nectar) and shelter have not been properly disentangled; and additionally, it remains unexplored whether the performance of nocturnal and diurnal natural enemies is improved when provided with diverse plant communities. Using open field experiments and a greenhouse microcosm, we investigated whether intercropping collards with parsley could create shelter for natural enemies in the lower stratum (parsley), and whether or not nocturnal and diurnal natural enemies would carry out aphid biological control equally well in this increased plant diversity scenario (intercropping). The results showed that the shelter alone provided by the lower stratum/companion plants (parsley) mediated an increase in the abundance of natural enemies without involving the provision of non‐prey alternative food. However, the biological control of aphids exerted by nocturnal predators was negatively affected by intercropping. The lower stratum (parsley) appeared to hamper the ability of nocturnal predators to reach aphids more quickly on the collard host plants (higher stratum). In total, our findings indicate that intercropping non‐flowering companion plants is likely enough to mediate an increase of natural enemies via shelter provision. In addition, the results suggest that nocturnal predators, or non‐flying predators for that matter, are hampered by complex lower stratum vegetation. Thus, considering natural enemy behaviour and plant characteristics when designing polyculture systems are vital for attaining conservation biological control success.     

Population interactions between Culex vishnui mosquitoes and their natural enemies in Pondicherry, India.

Population interactions among mosquitoes in the Culex vishnui subgroup, which are vectors of Japanese Encephalitis, and their natural enemies were studied in Pondicherry, India. We tested the hypothesis that the breakdown of interactions between the larvae and their natural enemies due to drought followed by rain was responsible for the sudden increase in the vector population above the threshold for disease transmission during the heavy rainy period. We randomly sampled mosquito larvae and their predators in different breeding habitats and subjected the mean densities of prey, predator, and mosquito larvae infected with parasites/pathogens to covariate analysis to understand the interaction between prey and their natural enemies in relation to environmental factors. In rice fields, neither prey nor predator showed any positive correlation with temperature, RH, or the number of rainy days. However, the pathogen/parasite of mosquito immatures showed a positive correlation with RH. Among the mosquito predators, notonectids exhibited a significant positive correlation with Cx. vishnui larvae. The parasitic Romanomermis iyengari and pathogenic Coelomomyces anopheliscus also showed positive correlations with immatures. No parasites and pathogens of mosquito larvae were recorded in shallow water pools (SWP) or cement tanks (CT) during the study period. Important predators recorded in SWP were notonectids, damselfly nymphs, Diplonychus indicus, and hydrophilids. Dragonfly nymphs, gerrids, and tadpole shrimps were recorded in CT. In CT, prey and their predators were positively correlated with RH and rainy days. In SWP, there was a highly significant correlation between prey, predators and environmental factors. We conclude that rice fields are a stable ecosystem where regular interaction occurs between larvae and their natural enemies and a sudden increase in mosquito populations is uncommon. In transient habitats, no such stability is present and they become more important as breeding habitats in terms of seasonality and number. Shallow water pools should be seriously considered for the control of these vectors.     

More intraguild prey than pest species in arachnid diets may compromise biological control in apple orchards

Understanding the full diet of natural enemies is necessary for evaluating their role as biocontrol agents, because many enemy species do not only feed on pests but also on other natural enemies. Such intraguild predation can compromise pest control if the consumed enemies are actually better for pest control than their predators. In this study, we used gut metabarcoding to quantify diets of all common arachnid species in Swedish and Spanish apple orchards. For this purpose, we designed new primers that reduce amplification of arachnid predators while retaining high amplification of all prey groups. Results suggest that most arachnids consume a large range of putative pest species on apple but also a high proportion of other natural enemies, where the latter constitute almost a third of all prey sequences. Intraguild predation also varied between regions, with a larger content of heteropteran bugs in arachnid guts from Spanish orchards, but not between orchard types. There was also a tendency for cursorial spiders to have more intraguild prey in the gut than web spiders. Two groups that may be overlooked as important biocontrol agents in apple orchards seem to be theridiid web spiders and opilionids, where the latter had several small-bodied pest species in the gut. These results thus provide important guidance for what arachnid groups should be targets of management actions, even though additional information is needed to quantify all direct and indirect interactions occurring in the complex arthropod food webs in fruit orchards.     

Adaptive defense of pests and switching predation can improve biological control by multiple natural enemies

One of the most important questions in biological control is whether multiple natural enemies can provide greater suppression of agricultural pests than a single best enemy. Intraguild predation (IGP) among natural enemies has often been invoked to explain failure of biological control by multiple enemies, and classical theoretical studies on IGP have supported this view. However, empirical studies are inconclusive and have yielded both positive and negative results. We extend classical models by considering anti-predator behavior of pests and diet switching of omnivorous natural enemies, and examine their effects on pest control. We assume that the pest can adaptively allocate effort toward the specific defense against each predator, and that the omnivorous natural enemy can consume disproportionately more of the relatively abundant prey (switching predation) by type III functional responses to prey items. The model predicts that adaptive defense augments pests but favors introduction of multiple natural enemies for controlling pests if IGP is weak. In contrast, switching predation does not make pest control by multiple natural enemies advantageous as in classical studies, in the absence of adaptive defense. However, switching predation reduces the necessity of defense by the pest against the omnivore and offsets the effect of adaptive defense. Thus, it makes the introduction of multiple natural enemies advantageous for pest control when the pest employs adaptive defense even if IGP is strong. These results suggest that types and combinations of behavior of prey and predators may greatly affect qualitative outcomes of biological control by multiple natural enemies.     

Preface

Data on the toxicity and selectivity of synthetic pyrethroids (SPs) to arthropod natural enemies and their host or prey are reviewed with emphasis on cotton, apple, alfalfa, cereal and vegetable inhabiting species. Generally, SPs are variably toxic and selective (in relation to their hosts or prey) to species within most families of natural enemies. Exceptions are low to moderate toxicity and favorable selectivity to most hemipteran predators, and high toxicity and unfavorable selectivity to virtually all phytoseiid mites in comparison to their prey. In North America, SPs are more favorably selective to cotton natural enemies over their prey or host than to apple inhabiting species. These differences may be due to intrinsic levels of susceptibility (preselection levels) between the types of natural enemies exploited on both crops in IPM programs (i.e. hemipteran species on cotton versus phytoseiid mites on apple) and/or to tolerances or resistances differences due to previous patterns of chemical use on these crops. Possible means of increasing selective use of SPs in future IPM systems based on ecological and physiological selectivity including the development of SP-resistant predators are discussed.     

Detecting predation and scavenging by DNA gut-content analysis: a case study using a soil insect predator-prey system

White grubs (larvae of Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) are abundant in below-ground systems and can cause considerable damage to a wide variety of crops by feeding on roots. White grub populations may be controlled by natural enemies, but the predator guild of the European species is barely known. Trophic interactions within soil food webs are difficult to study with conventional methods. Therefore, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approach was developed to investigate, for the first time, a soil insect predator-prey system. Can, however, highly sensitive detection methods identify carrion prey in predators, as has been shown for fresh prey? Fresh Melolontha melolontha (L.) larvae and 1- to 9-day-old carcasses were presented to Poecilus versicolor Sturm larvae. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I fragments of the prey, 175, 327 and 387 bp long, were detectable in 50% of the predators 32 h after feeding. Detectability decreased to 18% when a 585 bp sequence was amplified. Meal size and digestion capacity of individual predators had no influence on prey detection. Although prey consumption was negatively correlated with cadaver age, carrion prey could be detected by PCR as efficiently as fresh prey irrespective of carrion age. This is the first proof that PCR-based techniques are highly efficient and sensitive, both in fresh and carrion prey detection. Thus, if active predation has to be distinguished from scavenging, then additional approaches are needed to interpret the picture of prey choice derived by highly sensitive detection methods.     

Parasitism-mediated prey selectivity in laboratory conditions and implications for biological control

In agroecosystems, parasitoids and predators may exert top-down regulation and predators for different reasons may avoid or give preference to parasitised prey, i.e., become an intraguild predator. The success of pest suppression with multiple natural enemies depends essentially on predator–prey dynamics and how this is affected by the interplay between predation and parasitism. We conducted a simple laboratory experiment to test whether predators distinguished parasitised prey from non-parasitised prey and to study how parasitism influenced predation. We used a host-parasitoid system, Spodoptera frugiperda and one of its generalist parasitoids, Campoletis flavicincta, and included two predators, the stinkbug Podisus nigrispinus and the earwig Euborellia annulipes. In the experiment, predators were offered a choice between non-parasitised and parasitised larvae. We observed how long it took for the predator to attack a larva, which prey was attacked first, and whether predators opted to consume the other prey after their initial attack. Our results suggest that, in general, female predators are less selective than males and predators are more likely to consume non-parasitised prey with this likelihood being directly proportional to the time taken until the first prey attack. We used statistical models to show that males opted to consume the other prey with a significantly higher probability if they attacked a parasitised larva first, while females did so with the same probability irrespective of which one they attacked first. These results highlight the importance of studies on predator–parasitoid interactions, as well as on coexistence mechanisms in agroecosystems. When parasitism mediates predator choice so that intraguild predation is avoided, natural enemy populations may be larger, thus increasing the probability of more successful biological control.     

Survival of a specialist natural enemy experiencing resource competition with an omnivorous predator when sharing the invasive prey Tuta absoluta

Can specialist natural enemies persist in ecosystems when competing with omnivorous natural enemies for their shared prey? The consequences of omnivory have been studied theoretically, but empirical studies are still lacking. Omnivory is nevertheless common in nature and omnivorous predators coexist with specialists in many ecosystems, even when they are intraguild predators. This type of association is also common in agroecosystems in which biological control strategies are used. Our study provides an example of the outcome of such an association in the context of biological control of the invasive pest Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera) in a tomato agroecosystem. The two natural enemies involved, that is, a specialist (Stenomesius japonicus (Hymenoptera) parasitoid) and an omnivore (Macrolophus pygmaeus (Hemiptera) predator), were able to coexist for 3 months in our experimental cages in the absence of metacommunity mechanisms (i.e., emigration and recolonization), contrary to theoretical expectations. However, they negatively affected each other's population dynamics. We found that spatial resource segregation was not a mechanism that promoted their coexistence. Regarding pest control, the specialist and omnivorous natural enemies were found to exhibit complementary functional traits, leading to the best control when together. Mechanisms that may have promoted the coexistence of the two species as well as consequences with regard to the inoculative biological control program are discussed.     

Non-additive effects of multiple natural enemies on aphid populations

The question of whether multiple natural enemies often interact to produce lower host mortality than single enemies acting alone has not yet been resolved. We compared the effects of four different combinations of natural enemies-parasitoids, predators, parasitoids plus predators, and no enemies-on caged aphid populations on marsh elder, Iva frutescens, in west-central Florida. Using starting densities of natural enemies commonly found in the field, we showed that parasitoid wasps reduced aphid population densities more than predatory ladybird beetles. The addition of predators to cages containing parasites reduced the ability of parasitoids to decrease aphid population densities. Because the experiments ran only over the course of one generation, such a reduction in the effectiveness of parasites is likely caused by interference of predators with parasitoid behavior. Parasitism in the cages containing both parasitoids and predators was reduced when compared to percent parasitism in parasitoid-only cages, but this could also be due to predation. Our experiments showed that ladybird beetles prey on parasitized aphids. Thus over the long-term, the effectiveness of parasites is impaired by the interference of predators on ovipositing parasitoids and by the predation of parasitized aphids. The effects of natural enemies in this system are clearly non-additive.