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Addition of nectar sources affects a parasitoid community without improving pest suppression

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A Correction to this article was published on 22 October 2020

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Abstract

A life-table approach was used to test the effect of adding flowering buckwheat to leek plots on mortality and estimated population growth of the invasive leek moth, Acrolepiopsis assectella. This approach was used to estimate the benefits of nectar provisioning on multiple members of the leek moth’s parasitoid complex, and the impact of parasitism on the pest’s predicted population growth rate. Addition of buckwheat to leek plots shifted the relative abundance of different larval and pupal parasitoid species but did not increase or decrease parasitism levels or their population-level impact on the leek moth. The life-table analysis demonstrated that parasitoids reduced the estimated population growth rate of the leek moth by up to 72%, which far exceeds similar estimates from its native range. Parasitoids found to contribute to leek moth mortality were Itoplectis conquisitor, Conura albifrons and the biological control agent Diadromus pulchellus. In addition, Gambrus ultimus, Scambus calobatus, and Habrobracon sp. are reported here developing on A. assectella for the first time. This study reinforces the hypothesis that the addition of nectar resources to agricultural systems may not have straightforward positive effects and can favour some natural enemies over others, but may not have any overall impact on pest suppression.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Andrea Brauner, Stephanie Coghlan, Connor Lee, Josh Levy, Tina Dancau and Melanie Lacroix for their assistance in insect and plant culture maintenance and preparation of experimental plots. Andrea Brauner and Christina Thomsen provided valuable comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada

    Jacob H. Miall & Naomi Cappuccino

  2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa Research and Development Centre, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1A 06C, Canada

    Jacob H. Miall, Andrew M. R. Bennett, José L. Fernández-Triana & Peter G. Mason

  3. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz Research and Development Centre, 6947 Highway 7, Agassiz, BC, V0M 1A0, Canada

    Paul K. Abram

  4. Honorary Research Associate, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa Research and Development Centre, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1A 06C, Canada

    Gary A. P. Gibson

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  1. Jacob H. Miall
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Contributions

JHM, PKA, NC, and PGM conceived the study and developed the methodology. JHM, PKA, NC, AMRB, GAPG, JLF, and PGM contributed to the writing of the manuscript. JHM conducted experiments and collected the data. PKA and JHM analysed the data and conducted statistical analyses. AMRB, GAPG, and JLF provided parasitoid identifications and critical biological and phenological information pertaining to each species. PGM secured the funding for the research. All authors have read and approved the final article for submission.

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Correspondence to Jacob H. Miall.

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No studies with human or animal (vertebrate) participants were performed by any of the authors for this study.

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Communicated by V. Gagic.

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The original online version of this article was revised: In the original article published, the copyright line is incorrect. The correct copyright line of the article is Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

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Miall, J.H., Abram, P.K., Cappuccino, N. et al. Addition of nectar sources affects a parasitoid community without improving pest suppression. J Pest Sci 94, 335–347 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01274-y

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