Insect seed predators and environmental change

: Lewis OT, Gripenberg S

Publisher: BLACKWELL PUBLISHING

: 2008

Journal of Applied Ecology

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY

: J APPL ECOL

: 45

: 6

: 1593

: 1599

: 7

: 0021-8901

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01575.x

Synthesis and applications. Compared to other functionally important insect groups such as pollinators, seed predators have received relatively little attention in the context of the functioning and sustainability of agro-ecosystems and the consequences of global environmental change for ecological communities. A fuller understanding of the ecology of insect seed predator-plant interactions will be valuable to conservation and management in a range of natural and agricultural systems. For example, seed predator community ecology is relevant to predicting the consequences of deliberately or unintentionally introducing novel resource or consumer species; the process of habitat recovery following local disturbances; and managing the effects of pest or beneficial seed predators in agricultural crops. Furthermore, patterns of insect seed predation on a larger scale are likely to be highly sensitive to global environmental change drivers such as climate change and systematic habitat modification and fragmentation, with implications for the structure and organization of ecological communities more widely.