Global conversion of patches of natural vegetation into agricultural land is reducing the ecosystem services provided by natural patches dwelling species to farmers. For sub-Saharan African subsistence farmers, such a reduction in pest control services by birds may be a significant disadvantage. Here we explored to what extent birds provide pest control services to the staple crop maize (Zea mays) on small subsistence farms on the Mambilla Plateau of Taraba State, Nigeria. We used exclosure experiments (maize crops with and without birds) to model how birds influenced crop yield. We found that excluding birds from maize significantly reduces crop yield, although the lack of a direct correlation between bird abundance and crop yield suggests that other taxa, such as bats, may also be important pest predators. Our results suggest that in this subsistence farming landscape, natural pest control of maize from vertebrates does occur, but further research is needed to understand the specific control agents and the role of patches of natural vegetation as habitat for them.

中文翻译：

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尼日利亚自给玉米农场的脊椎动物害虫防治服务评估

全球将自然植被斑块转变为农业用地正在减少自然斑块栖息物种为农民提供的生态系统服务。对于撒哈拉以南非洲自给自足的农民来说，鸟类害虫防治服务的减少可能是一个很大的劣势。在这里，我们探讨了鸟类在多大程度上为尼日利亚塔拉巴州 Mambilla 高原的小型自给农场的主要作物玉米（Zea mays）提供害虫防治服务。我们使用封闭实验（有和没有鸟类的玉米作物）来模拟鸟类如何影响作物产量。我们发现，将鸟类排除在玉米之外会显着降低作物产量，尽管鸟类丰度与作物产量之间缺乏直接相关性表明其他类群，如蝙蝠，也可能是重要的害虫捕食者。