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Percorrer por autor "Wyckhuys, Kris"

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  • Climate Change Can Generate Enemy-Free Space for Crop-Feeding Herbivores
    Publication . Wyckhuys, Kris; Pozsgai, Gabor; Finch, Elizabeth; Seehausen, M. Lukas; Zhang, Wei; Gc, Yubak
    ABSTARCT: Crop-feeding herbivores reduce the world's food output by approximately 20% and climate change (CC) is bound to deepen those losses. Endemic or introduced consumer organisms (i.e., biological control agents) naturally regulate herbivore populations and secure a quarter of crop yields, but are exceptionally susceptible to CC-related disturbances. Here, we use niche modeling for 14 globally-important herbivores (or pests) to forecast how richness of the associated biological control agents of each pest—as a proxy of service strength—may alter under a CC-driven range expansion. Results show that 57%–100% of pests are bound to lose parasitoid and predator associates. The cassava mealybug Phenacoccus manihoti may experience a 27% decline in parasitoid pressure, whereas cosmopolitan pests of cereal and horticultural crops benefit from 6% to 7% drops in predator pressure. Such ‘enemy release’ can possibly exacerbate pest-induced yield losses and threaten future harvests. Ant-pest associations change in both directions, implying that pests may either face strengthened or weakened biological control. For pests spreading towards or within food-deficit regions in the equatorial belt, parasitoid declines and increases in ant pressure are most pronounced. By exposing the fragility of biodiversity-based ecological safeguards in farmland, our work calls for urgent, integrative, and nature-friendly solutions to uphold food security under environmental change.
    2026-03-12Artigo de investigação Acesso aberto Ver mais
  • Restoring functional farmland biodiversity for biological pest control
    Publication . Wyckhuys, Kris; Bushley, Kathryn; Gratton, Claudio; Gurr, Geoff; Pozsgai, Gabor; Tscharntke, Teja; Wanger, Thomas; Lu, Yanhui; Elkahky, Maged
    ABSTRACT: Roughly 40% of global agri-food production is lost to pests during an era when productivity gains are essential to humanity. Restoring farmland biodiversity for conservation biological control offers potential to secure win-win outcomes for yield and the environment. However, achieving this is hindered by gaps in our understanding of agrobiodiversity, including a lack of data on the occurrence, identity, and interactions of farm-dwelling (plant, animal, microbial) biota. Limited interdisciplinary collaboration and weak policy frameworks exacerbate these issues. Comprehensive data capture using standardized metrics, universal protocols, farmer–scientist cooperation, and next-generation tools could consolidate the evidence base on which to reform farming practice. This will involve ecologists stepping outside their comfort zones to promote behavioral change and make ecological intensification a reality.
    2025-10-01Artigo de revisão Acesso aberto Ver mais