Landscape-scale pest suppression is mediated by timing of predator arrival

Costamagna, AC, WN Venables, and NA Schellhorn. Landscape-scale pest suppression is mediated by timing of predator arrival. Ecological Applications, in press
There is increasing evidence that biological control of agricultural pests is affected by the landscape context, although the mechanisms behind this pattern have received little attention. Ecological theory predicts that one key mechanism mediating successful pest suppression is early predator immigration to agricultural fields. However, the importance of this population process under different landscape contexts remains unknown. Here, we elucidate the relative importance of landscape context and timing of predator immigration on aphid suppression by manipulating exposure to predation in agroecosystems located across a gradient of landscape complexity in a subtropical horticultural region in Australia. Aphid suppression varied with landscape context, from populations escaping control to almost complete pest suppression. In general, we found higher aphid suppression when predators were allowed immediate and continuous access to aphids than when predators were delayed or excluded for a week, but responses varied in each landscape. Contrary to previous reports from temperate agricultural landscapes, aphid suppression was neutral or negatively associated with natural and semi-natural vegetation whereas aphid suppression was positively associated with landscapes with higher proportion of alfalfa. When landscapes were classified according to their levels of complexity, we showed that early predation resulted in similar levels of pest suppression in simplified landscapes (i.e. with low proportion of alfalfa and habitat diversity) as late predation in complex landscapes (i.e. with high proportion of alfalfa and habitat diversity). Our data show that timing of predator arrival to agricultural fields is as important as landscape complexity for mediating pest control in agroecosystems. Furthermore, our results suggest that key distribution of suitable habitats that facilitate natural enemy movement can enhance biological control in simplified landscapes.