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Assessment of pest control services by vertebrates in Nigerian subsistence maize farms

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Tela_2021_ConservatSoc_Assessment_Pest_Control_CC.pdf (694.7Kb)
Date
10/2021
Author
Tela, Murna
Cresswell, Will
Chapman, Hazel
Keywords
Subsistence maize farm
Exclosure experiment
Birds
Pest control services
Crop productivity
QH301 Biology
SB Plant culture
DAS
SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 15 - Life on Land
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Abstract
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.
Citation
Tela , M , Cresswell , W & Chapman , H 2021 , ' Assessment of pest control services by vertebrates in Nigerian subsistence maize farms ' , Conservation and Society , vol. 19 , no. 2 , pp. 218-224 . https://doi.org/10.4103/cs.cs_213_20
Publication
Conservation and Society
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/cs.cs_213_20
ISSN
0972-4923
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright: © Tela et al. 2021. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and distribution of the article, provided the original work is cited.
Description
Funding: MT was supported by a studentship funded by New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) through the University of Canterbury, and A.G Leventis educational research grants for doctoral candidates.
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URL
https://www.conservationandsociety.org.in/article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2021;volume=19;issue=4;spage=218;epage=224;aulast=Tela;type=0
https://www.conservationandsociety.org.in/
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/24541

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