The roles of florivory and herbivory in maintaining intra-population flower colour variation in Anemone coronaria.

Most flowering plants are colour monomorphic, while within-population flower colour variation is rare. Multiple selection agents on flower colour, each favouring a different colour morph, may drive such uncommon polymorphisms. We tested the role of biotic antagonistic interactions in maintaining flower colour variation in Anemone coronaria (Ranunculaceae), in colour-polymorphic populations comprised of red, purple, and white flowers.

Parasitoids for biological control in dryland agroecosystems.

This review focuses on biological control interactions in arid areas and is motivated by the need to devise sustainable agricultural practices for a warming and drying world. Parasitoids, important natural enemies of crop pests, are diverse and abundant in natural arid habitats. Dryland croplands, which are usually irrigated, are also rich in local parasitoids.

Effects of Natural Habitat and Season on Cursorial Spider Assemblages in Mediterranean Vineyards.

Natural habitats adjacent to vineyards are presumed to have a positive effect on the diversity of natural enemies within the vineyards. However, these habitats differ in vegetation structure and seasonal phenology and in turn could affect the species composition of natural enemies. Here, we compared the species richness and diversity and the composition of spider assemblages in several locations within three commercial vineyards and the nearby natural habitats in a Mediterranean landscape in northern Israel.

Trait-based approaches to predicting biological control success: challenges and prospects.

Identifying traits that are associated with success of introduced natural enemies in establishing and controlling pest insects has occupied researchers and biological control practitioners for decades. Unfortunately, consistent general relationships have been difficult to detect, preventing a priori ranking of candidate biological control agents based on their traits. We summarise previous efforts and propose a series of potential explanations for the lack of clear patterns.