Diverse Roles Make for Rich Diversity
Find a niche and fill it: that’s the key to biodiversity, according to a recent study by WSU entomologist William Snyder. He and his team studied parasitic wasps and their aphid prey. More than the sheer number of species in an ecosystem, biological diversity, it turns out, is a matter of non-overlapping roles.
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Some parasitic wasps prey on aphids and act as a natural biocontrol. Understanding how to control aphids is important as aphids are a common vector of many viruses that infect plants“Diversity is beneficial because at some point as you’re adding more species, you’re adding species that do different things,” Snyder said.
Snyder’s study provides support for sustainable agriculture practices and offers guidance on how best to maintain biological control of agricultural pests. Understanding how to control aphids is important as aphids are a common vector of many viruses that infect plants.
Snyder’s team found that increasing the number of wasp species on a test plot increased the consumption of aphids only if each wasp species targeted a different kind of aphid. Their findings show that for efficient biological control of pests, the best recipe is to use multiple agents (e.g., wasps) that don’t have overlapping prey preferences. He said the study also suggests why sustainable agricultural systems have relatively few pest problems despite their minimal use of pesticides.
Snyder and a graduate student counting species in order to ascertain an ecosystem’s biodiversity |
Snyder’s team is developing tools to predict which biocontrol agents will work best together. This information can be used to design communities of agents best suited to controlling particular pests.
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