Short Communication Exotic Pest Insects: Another Perspective On
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Oryx Vol 42 No 1 January 2008 Short Communication Exotic pest insects: another perspective on coffee and conservation Christopher N. Kaiser, Dennis M. Hansen and Christine B. Mu¨ller Abstract Research on crop systems and biodiversity habitats. We give an example from Mauritius, where an conservation in the tropics has mainly been concerned introduced coffee pest severely reduces the reproduc- with how low to mid intensity agricultural systems can tive success of a threatened endemic plant species. We benefit from adjacent natural habitats by receiving argue that such effects may be more common than ecosystem services from natural biodiversity. One in- suggested by the literature, especially when crop and tensively studied crop in this framework is coffee. native plants are congeneric. In the long term, such Positive effects are relatively easy to quantify by com- negative effects may degrade natural habitats, thereby paring coffee yield and by recording native species causing ecosystem services derived from these habitats diversity. However, a largely overlooked issue is how to decline. agricultural areas affect native organisms in adjacent natural habitats, for example through movement of Keywords Agroecosystem, biodiversity, coffee, ecosys- pest species that could impose a risk of degrading these tem services, insect pest, Mauritius. Studies in biodiversity research and conservation bi- 2002; Klein et al., 2003; de Marco & Coelho, 2004; ology have emphasised the loss not only of species but Ricketts, 2004). Similarly, the natural service provided also of ecosystem functions and resulting ecosystem by predatory and parasitic organisms in controlling pest services (e.g. Daily, 1997). Pollination and pest control species on crop plants may depend on the diversity of are two examples of crucial ecosystem functions and natural habitats in which these organisms can persist their loss may have profound ecological, economical throughout their life cycles when pest insects are not and social consequences (Chapin et al., 2000). Animal available (Naylor & Ehrlich, 1997). Thus, current con- pollination represents a critically important group of sensus is that the management of agricultural land- ecosystem functions and is of particular value in agri- scapes in the tropics should aim to maximise the cultural landscapes (Nabhan & Buchmann, 1997; Rou- benefits derived from ecosystem services rendered by bik, 2002). For example, it is estimated that crop animals by maintaining structurally diverse habitats pollination by animals is worth USD 112 billion per that harbour stable populations of beneficent animal year on average (Costanza et al., 1997), and the decline of species. managed and wild pollinators is therefore of great One well studied crop plant in the tropics is coffee. In concern (Allen-Wardell et al., 1998; Kosior et al., 2007; many tropical montane regions forest fragments are but see Ghazoul, 2005). Recent research has highlighted embedded in a matrix of traditional coffee plantations the role of natural habitats in maintaining a high polli- (Perfecto et al., 1996; Perfecto & Vandermeer, 2002). nator diversity that provides stable, high levels of Planting coffee bushes in proximity to forest fragments pollination services to nearby crop plants (Roubik, or even directly in the forest increases coffee yield because the structurally more complex habitat of the forest supports a higher diversity and abundance of pollinators and natural pest control agents for the coffee Christopher N. Kaiser* (Corresponding author), Dennis M. Hansen and Christine B. Mu¨ ller Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Zurich, plants than impoverished agricultural land (Moguel & Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. E-mail Toledo, 1999; Klein et al., 2003; Ricketts, 2004; Steffan- [email protected] Dewenter et al., 2006). *Current address: Ecosystem Management, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, While the benefits of native animals to crop plants in Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Universitaetstrasse 16, CH-8092 the tropics are increasingly being assessed and used to Zurich, Switzerland. inform agricultural and related conservation policies, Received 14 November 2006. Revision requested 10 February 2007. there has been little concern with the potential impacts Accepted 25 June 2007. First published online 2 November 2007. of agricultural practices and introduced animals on 143 ª 2008 FFI, Oryx, 42(1), 143–146 doi:10.1017/S0030605308000914 Printed in the United Kingdom Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.14, on 02 Oct 2021 at 02:16:11, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605308000914 144 C. N. Kaiser et al. native plants in their natural habitats. The most obvious from the island of Mauritius, where an introduced pest explanation for this disparity is that quantifying positive species of coffee seriously affects the reproductive effects of, for example, pollinator diversity or negative success of an endangered endemic plant. In Mauritius effects of pest species on crop yield is more straightfor- commercial coffee Coffea arabica L. (Rubiaceae) planta- ward and economically rewarding than measuring gains tions were established in 1721 (Rouillard & Gue´ho, or losses in biodiversity in surrounding natural habitats 1999). The coffee berry moth Prophantis smaragdina (Edwards & Abivardi, 1998). While effects on crop yield (Lepidoptera; Crambidae) was accidentally introduced can be expressed directly in economic terms it is more to Mauritius and was first documented in coffee planta- difficult to assign a universally understandable economic tions in 1938 (Vinson, 1938). It has long been recorded on value to a change in natural ecosystem functioning, C. arabica in other countries, for example on the island of which can only be assessed indirectly following a de- Sao Tome´ in the Gulf of Guinea, where it destroyed up crease of biodiversity in natural habitats (Pearce, 2001). to 80% of the coffee yield (Derron, 1977). The last One potential negative consequence of mixing crop reported infestation of P. smaragdina on coffee in Maur- plants with natural habitats could be the invasion of pest itius was in 1995 on plantations close to the Black River species from agricultural landscapes to the surrounding Gorges National Park, which contains the largest re- natural habitats. The global distribution of many crop maining area of native forest on the island. Preliminary species provides a large base for invasion of pest species observations in the National Park during another exper- from agricultural landscapes to surrounding natural imental study (Kaiser, 2006) suggested a strong negative habitats (Mack et al., 2000). Wild hosts can provide an effect of herbivory by P. smaragdina on fruit produc- opportunity for pest species to build up or maintain tion of the endemic dioecious shrub Bertiera zaluzania reservoir populations before dispersing to cultivated (Rubiaceae), which is closely related to Coffea (Davis et al., hosts (Panizzi, 1997; Sudbrink et al., 1998; Fox & Dosdall, 2006). To substantiate these observations we monitored 2003) but the role of wild hosts in pest population the fruit development of 20 female B. zaluzania plants, dynamics is usually only considered when there is an which constitutes c. 10% of the largest extant population economic impact on crop yield (van Emden, 1981). on Plaine Champagne, an upland heath area within the Although such research bias is inevitable, it is vital to National Park. This population is located parallel to the also consider the possibility that crop plants can serve as closest commercial coffee plantation, resulting in similar hosts from which pests may spread into natural habitats. distances between each B. zaluzania individual and the Here, we add another perspective to the present coffee plantation. Experimental plants were assigned debate (Rappole et al., 2003; Steffan-Dewenter et al., randomly by dividing the area into 100 quadrats and 2007; Vandermeer & Perfecto, 2007) on coffee and selecting the most central B. zaluzania plant in 20 conservation in the tropics by presenting an example randomly chosen quadrats. We surveyed 10 randomly Plate 1 Fruit of Bertiera zaluzania (Rubiaceae) (a) freshly attacked and (b) fully destroyed by Prophantis smaragdina (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). All fruits had been destroyed within 2 weeks of exhibiting signs of attack. ª 2008 FFI, Oryx, 42(1), 143–146 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.14, on 02 Oct 2021 at 02:16:11, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605308000914 Exotic insect pests in natural habitats 145 selected infructescences per plant (mean number of and protect this habitat, they may in fact accelerate the infructescences per plant was 21.5 – 2.3 SE) in the first impoverishment of such areas, and thereby ultimately week of February 2004 and 2005, once fruits had started compromise their own existence. Studies into such to develop and had reached a diameter of c. 4 mm. In contrary effects are urgently required to counteract the 2004, 14 out of 19 plants (flowers of one of the 20 study largely one-sided economical approach that has domi- plants were attacked by fungi and did not set any fruit) nated this emerging and active field of research to date. were attacked by P. smaragdina caterpillars