Biological pest regulation can benefit from diverse predation modes

Abstract

Increases in agricultural intensity due to anthropogenic demands alongside the need to reduce the reliance on pesticides have resulted in an urgent need for sustainable options for pest control. Biological pest regulation is an alternative strategy that relies on natural predators and is essentially a by-product of successful foraging. Therefore, knowledge of the predator’s specific foraging behaviour can significantly improve bioregulation. In this article, we discuss the implications of predators’ diverse foraging modes on their efficiency as bioregulators of crop pests using amphibians and reptiles as models. Amphibians and reptiles are promising bioregulators as they are insectivorous, and the diversity in their foraging styles—ambush and active foraging, differing in energy expenditure, movement, cognitive abilities, reliance on cues, response to predatory risk, competition and prey salience—can have specific impacts on pest regulation. We propose the uptake of this concept into strategizing pest management actions. We are now moving towards an era of biological pest regulation, which is the most targeted, economically profitable method with zero negative impact on the ecosystem. Utilizing diverse traits associated with the different foraging modes in vertebrate predators can be a crucial tool in allowing pest management to adapt to the extreme challenges it is facing.

Keywords

• amphibians
• foraging mode
• pest management
• reptiles
• sustainable agriculture