Intraguild predation (IGP) is a widespread ecological phenomenon which occurs when one predator species attacks another predator species with which it competes for a shared prey species. The objective of this paper is to study the dynamical propertie...
Intraguild predation among arthropod predators in agricultural ecosystems may have a negative impact on biological control. At present, there are few direct reports on trophic relationships among participants of predation in field groups. In this stu...
In biological control, joint releases of predators and parasitoids are standard. However, intraguild predation (IGP) can occur when a predator attacks a parasitoid, potentially affecting pest control dynamics. In addition to the focal prey (FP), Tria...
Intraguild predation (IGP) can have a significant impact on phytoplankton biomass, but its effects on their diversity and assemblage composition are not well understood. In this study, we constructed an IGP model based on the common three-trophic foo...
Species sharing the same trophic level can interact not only through competition for resources but also through intraguild predation (IGP). Therefore, an important step toward implementing successful multiple predator releases in biological control s...
The ladybirds Coccinella septempunctata and Harmonia axyridis are important biocontrol agents for the small walnut aphid Chromaphis juglandicola, a key walnut pest. C. juglandicola outbreaks occur in walnut orchards, and walnut yields have declined....
The predatory mites Neoseiulus barkeri (Hughes) and the predatory thrips Scolothrips takahashii (Priesner) are known as potential biocontrol agents for the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (Koch). These two predator species occur simultane...
Intraguild predation of Neoseiulus cucumeris Oudemans (Phytoseiidae) by soil-dwelling predators, Dalotia coriaria Kraatz (Staphylinidae) may limit the utility of open rearing systems in greenhouse thrips management programs. We determined the rate of...
The food web of Lake Kinneret contains intraguild predation (IGP). Predatory invertebrates and planktivorous fish both feed on herbivorous zooplankton, while the planktivorous fish also feed on the predatory invertebrates. In this study, a complex me...
The ladybird Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and the green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea have shown potential for use in augmentative biological control of mealybug pests in greenhouse crops. In the context of combining these predators within an integrated p...
This study examines the impact of fear effects and cooperative hunting strategies in the context of intraguild predation food webs. The presented model includes a shared prey species with logistic growth and assumes that both the intraguild prey and...
Top predators shape the communities of sympatric predators by killing and displacing smaller predators. Predation risk pushes smaller predators to select enemy-free spaces irrespective of food availability, which results in changes in their behaviour...
(1) Background: The effects of density and the habitat conditions on the prey vulnerability in the Intraguild Predation (IGP) system were evaluated using the water bug D. rusticus as the top predator. (2) Methods: Using two different density levels (...
(1) Intraguild predation (IGP) can occur among aphidophagous predators thus reducing their effectiveness in controlling crop pests. Among ladybirds, Coccinella septempunctata L. and Hippodamia variegata Goeze are the most effective predators upon Aph...
Intraguild predation (IGP) is a ubiquitous, important and common interaction that occurs in aphidophagous guilds. The effects of extraguild prey (EGP, i.e., aphids) density, predator life stage combinations and duration of the interaction on the leve...
Extreme habitats often harbor specific communities that differ substantially from non-extreme habitats. In many cases, these communities are characterized by archaea, bacteria and protists, whereas the number of species of metazoa and higher plants i...
Intraguild predation interactions have substantial theoretical and practical implications for the dynamics of natural competitor populations used for biological control. Intraguild predation on parasitized aphids not only has a direct, negative effec...
Cannibalism in insects plays an important role in ecological relationships. Nonetheless, it has not been studied as extensively as in other arthropods groups (e.g., Arachnida). From a theoretical point of view, cannibalism has an impact on the develo...
BACKGROUND: Larvae of the minute aphidophagous Scymnus nubilus Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) are common predators in apple orchards, covered by a wax layer that might act as a defense mechanism against natural enemies. However, the costs and be...
To date, evaluating the diets of natural enemies like carabids has largely been limited to spatially explicit and short-term sampling. This leaves a knowledge gap for the intra-annual dynamics of carabid diets, and the provision and timing of deliver...
Scavenging guilds often have several trophic levels with varying dominance and intra-guild predation, competition, and interaction. Apex predators can control subordinate predators by limiting their numbers and affecting behaviour but also supply a c...
The present study investigated egg parasitoid interspecific interactions between a generalist, Ooencyrtus nezarae Ishii (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and a specialist, Paratelenomus saccharalis Dodd (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) in a laboratory setting u...
Better knowledge of food webs and related ecological processes is fundamental to understanding the functional role of biodiversity in ecosystems. This is particularly true for pest regulation by natural enemies in agroecosystems. However, it is gener...
Organic crop production systems are designed to enhance or preserve the presence of natural enemies, including parasitoids and predators, by means of conservation biological control, which involves providing environments and habitats that sustain nat...
The use of more than one species to manage a single insect pest is a common practice among biological control programs. However, the beneficial effects of natural enemies are not always additive, which in many cases may be attributed to interspecific...
Over recent decades, intraguild predation (IGP) has attracted special attention, both from the theoretical and practical standpoints. The present paper addresses the interference competition between two Trichogramma species (egg parasitoids)—on...
(1) Diffuse competition affects per capita rates of population increase among species that exploit similar resources, and thus can be an important structuring force in ecological communities. Diffuse competition has traditionally been studied within...
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, has become one of the most important pests on corn in China since it invaded in 2019. Although FAW has not been reported to cause widespread damage to rice plants in China, it has been sporadically foun...
Maternal effects can reduce offspring susceptibility to predators by altering resource allocation to young and reproducing larger offspring. While the perception of predation risk can vary according to a prey’s life stage, it is unclear whether...
Following its recent invasion of African countries, fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), now co-exists with resident stemborers such as Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Chilo partellus (Lepidoptera: Crambida...
Biological control of the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens, is mainly carried out by releasing parasitoids, such as Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, and by applying entomopathogenic fungi (EPF), such as Metarhizium anisopliae, Beauveria bassiana, or...
Amphipods are a key component of aquatic ecosystems due to their distribution, abundance and ecological role. They also serve as hosts for many micro- and macro-parasites. The importance of parasites and the necessity to include them in ecological st...
Venom compositions include complex mixtures of toxic proteins that evolved to immobilize/dissuade organisms by disrupting biological functions. Venom production is metabolically expensive, and parsimonious use is expected, as suggested by the venom o...
Bemisia tabaci is a major pest of open-field melons in Mediterranean regions. Combining several species of natural enemies can improve pest control but it can give undesirable results when the species engage in antagonistic interactions. This study e...
Dalotia coriaria (Kraatz) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and entomopathogenic nematodes (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae) are two soil-dwelling biological control agents used to manage western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis...
Amphibian predator–insect prey relationships are common in terrestrial habitats, but amphibian larvae are preyed upon by a variety of aquatic hemipterans in aquatic habitats. This paper suggests that the survival of the nymphs of the endangered aquat...
Our study investigates predation among sympatric owl species in the Judea Region, specifically focusing on the predation by Eurasian Eagle Owls (Bubo bubo) on smaller owl species. Field observations conducted between 2006 and 2009 revealed recurrent...
The complex relationship between ecosystem function and soil food web structure is governed by species interactions, many of which remain unmapped. Phagotrophic protists structure soil food webs by grazing the microbiome, yet their involvement in int...
Biodiversity is declining globally, which calls for effective conservation measures. It is, therefore, important to investigate the drivers behind species presence at large spatial scales. The Western European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is one of...
The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, has developed resistance to many insecticides, renewing interest in the biological control of this global pest. Generalist predators might contribute to whitefly suppression if they commonly occur in infested fields and...
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an important food product with thousands of years of human use. Being a non-washable food, no pesticide residues are allowed, which increases the importance of natural means of plant protection. Predation, a component of na...
Intra-guild interactions related to facilitation and competition can be strong forces structuring ecological communities and have been suggested as particularly prominent for large carnivores. The African lion (Panthera leo) is generally thought to b...
Outbreaks of the Nearctic leafhopper Erasmoneura vulnerata represent a threat to vinegrowers in Southern Europe, in particular in North-eastern Italy. The pest outbreaks are frequent in organic vineyards because insecticides labeled for organic vitic...
A population of endangered San Joaquin kit foxes inhabits the urban environment in the city of Bakersfield, California, United States. This population is considered important for the conservation and recovery of this species. In this novel environmen...
The promotion of native vegetation as a habitat for natural enemies, which could increase their abundance and fitness, is especially useful in highly simplified settings such as Mediterranean greenhouse landscapes. Spiders as generalist predators may...
The koinobiont solitary larval endoparasitoid Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris (Marsh) (Syn.: Apanteles gelechiidivoris) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and the predatory bug Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) are important natural enemies of...
The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a maize pest worldwide. Its host range comprises more than 350 reported plant species, and it is the primary insect pest attacking maize in Florida. Global trade has n...
Sweet pepper is a crop that benefits from phytosanitary treatments with low environmental impact, especially the successful control of pests through the introduction of biological control agents in greenhouses. However, predators that naturally occur...
Sympatric animals with similar requirements can separate their ecological niches along the microhabitat, food and time axes. There may be alternative reasons for an interspecific different activity pattern, such as intraspecific social constraints, p...
Disruptive selection arises when extreme phenotypes have a fitness advantage compared to more-intermediate phenotypes. Theory and evidence suggest that intraspecific resource competition is a key driver of disruptive selection. However, while competi...
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