Functional redundancy of weed seed predation is reduced by intensified agriculture.

Intensified agriculture, a driver of biodiversity loss, can diminish ecosystem functions and their stability. Biodiversity can increase functional redundancy and is expected to stabilize ecosystem functions. Few studies, however, have explored how agricultural intensity affects functional redundancy and its link with ecosystem function stability. Here, within a continental-wide study, we assess how functional redundancy of seed predation is affected by agricultural intensity and landscape simplification. By combining carabid abundances with molecular gut content data, functional redundancy of seed predation was quantified for 65 weed genera across 60 fields in four European countries. Across weed genera, functional redundancy was reduced with high field management intensity and simplified crop rotations. Moreover, functional redundancy increased the spatial stability of weed seed predation at the field scale. We found that ecosystem functions are vulnerable to disturbances in intensively managed agroecosystems, providing empirical evidence of the importance of biodiversity for stable ecosystem functions across space.

Microbial biomarkers of tree water status for next-generation biomonitoring of forest ecosystems.

Next-generation biomonitoring proposes to combine machine-learning algorithms with environmental DNA data to automate the monitoring of the Earth's major ecosystems. In the present study, we searched for molecular biomarkers of tree water status to develop next-generation biomonitoring of forest ecosystems. Because phyllosphere microbial communities respond to both tree physiology and climate change, we investigated whether environmental DNA data from tree phyllosphere could be used as molecular biomarkers of tree water status in forest ecosystems. Using an amplicon sequencing approach, we analysed phyllosphere microbial communities of four tree species (Quercus ilex, Quercus robur, Pinus pinaster and Betula pendula) in a forest experiment composed of irrigated and non-irrigated plots. We used these microbial community data to train a machine-learning algorithm (Random Forest) to classify irrigated and non-irrigated trees. The Random Forest algorithm detected tree water status from phyllosphere microbial community composition with more than 90% accuracy for oak species, and more than 75% for pine and birch. Phyllosphere fungal communities were more informative than phyllosphere bacterial communities in all tree species. Seven fungal amplicon sequence variants were identified as candidates for the development of molecular biomarkers of water status in oak trees. Altogether, our results show that microbial community data from tree phyllosphere provides information on tree water status in forest ecosystems and could be included in next-generation biomonitoring programmes that would use in situ, real-time sequencing of environmental DNA to help monitor the health of European temperate forest ecosystems.

Ecosystems monitoring powered by environmental genomics: A review of current strategies with an implementation roadmap.

A decade after environmental scientists integrated high-throughput sequencing technologies in their toolbox, the genomics-based monitoring of anthropogenic impacts on the biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems is yet to be implemented by regulatory frameworks. Despite the broadly acknowledged potential of environmental genomics to this end, technical limitations and conceptual issues still stand in the way of its broad application by end-users. In addition, the multiplicity of potential implementation strategies may contribute to a perception that the routine application of this methodology is premature or "in development", hence restraining regulators from binding these tools into legal frameworks. Here, we review recent implementations of environmental genomics-based methods, applied to the biomonitoring of ecosystems. By taking a general overview, without narrowing our perspective to particular habitats or groups of organisms, this paper aims to compare, review and discuss the strengths and limitations of four general implementation strategies of environmental genomics for monitoring: (a) Taxonomy-based analyses focused on identification of known bioindicators or described taxa; (b) De novo bioindicator analyses; (c) Structural community metrics including inferred ecological networks; and (d) Functional community metrics (metagenomics or metatranscriptomics). We emphasise the utility of the three latter strategies to integrate meiofauna and microorganisms that are not traditionally utilised in biomonitoring because of difficult taxonomic identification. Finally, we propose a roadmap for the implementation of environmental genomics into routine monitoring programmes that leverage recent analytical advancements, while pointing out current limitations and future research needs.

Potential use of an arthropod database to support the non-target risk assessment and monitoring of transgenic plants.

Worldwide, plants obtained through genetic modification are subject to a risk analysis and regulatory approval before they can enter the market. An area of concern addressed in environmental risk assessments is the potential of genetically modified (GM) plants to adversely affect non-target arthropods and the valued ecosystem services they provide. Environmental risk assessments are conducted case-by-case for each GM plant taking into account the plant species, its trait(s), the receiving environments into which the GM plant is to be released and its intended uses, and the combination of these characteristics. To facilitate the non-target risk assessment of GM plants, information on arthropods found in relevant agro-ecosystems in Europe has been compiled in a publicly available database of bio-ecological information during a project commissioned by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Using different hypothetical GM maize case studies, we demonstrate how the information contained in the database can assist in identifying valued species that may be at risk and in selecting suitable species for laboratory testing, higher-tier studies, as well as post-market environmental monitoring.

Consumer identity but not food availability affects carabid diet in cereal crops.

Understanding trophic interactions in agroecosystems is crucial for harnessing ecosystem services such as pest control, thus enabling a reduction in pesticide use. Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) have the potential to regulate not only insect pests but also weed seeds and slugs. The aim of this study was to investigate the food choice of different carabid species in the experimental setting of a cereal field with varying seed and slug prey availability during the season. In addition to varying food availability, the effects of species identity and season on carabid food choice should also be closely examined. Therefore, the gut contents of 1,120 beetles of eight carabid species were screened for the DNA of plants, aphids, springtails, earthworms and slugs via diagnostic multiplex PCR and a nested metabarcoding approach for plant species identification. Plant DNA was detected far more often (72%) than the various animal prey types (less than 12.5% each). Within the plant detections, 80 weed species were identified in the metabarcoding, with Galinsoga parviflora/quadriradiata (Galinsoga spp.-quickweeds) as the most frequently detected species. Carabid food choice was driven by their species identity and seasonality, while no effect of increased availability of seeds and slugs on their food choice was detected. While weed seeds seem to be an important food source for carabids, their availability does not directly affect the carabid diet. The importance of consumer identity and seasonality highlight the need for a diverse carabid species community for resilient pest control services. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10340-023-01620-w.

Farmer-led agroecology for biodiversity with climate change.

The increasing pace of climate change is an existential threat to farming continuity and biodiversity. Agricultural innovation is running too slowly but could be accelerated by a change in the agroecological narrative. A farmer-led agroecology prioritising farming continuity for biodiversity would speed up innovation and better serve science and society.

Handling of targeted amplicon sequencing data focusing on index hopping and demultiplexing using a nested metabarcoding approach in ecology.

High-throughput sequencing platforms are increasingly being used for targeted amplicon sequencing because they enable cost-effective sequencing of large sample sets. For meaningful interpretation of targeted amplicon sequencing data and comparison between studies, it is critical that bioinformatic analyses do not introduce artefacts and rely on detailed protocols to ensure that all methods are properly performed and documented. The analysis of large sample sets and the use of predefined indexes create challenges, such as adjusting the sequencing depth across samples and taking sequencing errors or index hopping into account. However, the potential biases these factors introduce to high-throughput amplicon sequencing data sets and how they may be overcome have rarely been addressed. On the example of a nested metabarcoding analysis of 1920 carabid beetle regurgitates to assess plant feeding, we investigated: (i) the variation in sequencing depth of individually tagged samples and the effect of library preparation on the data output; (ii) the influence of sequencing errors within index regions and its consequences for demultiplexing; and (iii) the effect of index hopping. Our results demonstrate that despite library quantification, large variation in read counts and sequencing depth occurred among samples and that the sequencing error rate in bioinformatic software is essential for accurate adapter/primer trimming and demultiplexing. Moreover, setting an index hopping threshold to avoid incorrect assignment of samples is highly recommended.

Inferring species interactions from ecological survey data: A mechanistic approach to predict quantitative food webs of seed feeding by carabid beetles.

Ecological networks are valuable for ecosystem analysis but their use is often limited by a lack of data because many types of ecological interaction, for example, predation, are short-lived and difficult to observe or detect. While there are different methods for inferring the presence of interactions, they have rarely been used to predict the interaction strengths that are required to construct weighted, or quantitative, ecological networks.Here, we develop a trait-based approach suitable for inferring weighted networks, that is, with varying interaction strengths. We developed the method for seed-feeding carabid ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) although the principles can be applied to other species and types of interaction.Using existing literature data from experimental seed-feeding trials, we predicted a per-individual interaction cost index based on carabid and seed size. This was scaled up to the population level to create inferred weighted networks using the abundance of carabids and seeds from empirical samples and energetic intake rates of carabids from the literature. From these weighted networks, we also derived a novel measure of expected predation pressure per seed type per network.This method was applied to existing ecological survey data from 255 arable fields with carabid data from pitfall traps and plant seeds from seed rain traps. Analysis of these inferred networks led to testable hypotheses about how network structure and predation pressure varied among fields.Inferred networks are valuable because (a) they provide null models for the structuring of food webs to test against empirical species interaction data, for example, DNA analysis of carabid gut regurgitates and (b) they allow weighted networks to be constructed whenever we can estimate interactions between species and have ecological census data available. This permits ecological network analysis even at times and in places when interactions were not directly assessed.

Ecological plasticity governs ecosystem services in multilayer networks.

Agriculture is under pressure to achieve sustainable development goals for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Services in agro-ecosystems are typically driven by key species, and changes in the community composition and species abundance can have multifaceted effects. Assessment of individual services overlooks co-variance between different, but related, services coupled by a common group of species. This partial view ignores how effects propagate through an ecosystem. We conduct an analysis of 374 agricultural multilayer networks of two related services of weed seed regulation and gastropod mollusc predation delivered by carabid beetles. We found that weed seed regulation increased with the herbivore predation interaction frequency, computed from the network of trophic links between carabids and weed seeds in the herbivore layer. Weed seed regulation and herbivore interaction frequencies declined as the interaction frequencies between carabids and molluscs in the carnivore layer increased. This suggests that carabids can switch to gastropod predation with community change, and that link turnover rewires the herbivore and carnivore network layers affecting seed regulation. Our study reveals that ecosystem services are governed by ecological plasticity in structurally complex, multi-layer networks. Sustainable management therefore needs to go beyond the autecological approaches to ecosystem services that predominate, particularly in agriculture.

Microbial networks inferred from environmental DNA data for biomonitoring ecosystem change: Strengths and pitfalls.

Environmental DNA contains information on the species interaction networks that support ecosystem functions and services. Next-generation biomonitoring proposes the use of this data to reconstruct ecological networks in real time and then compute network-level properties to assess ecosystem change. We investigated the relevance of this proposal by assessing: (i) the replicability of DNA-based networks in the absence of ecosystem change, and (ii) the benefits and shortcomings of community- and network-level properties for monitoring change. We selected crop-associated microbial networks as a case study because they support disease regulation services in agroecosystems and analysed their response to change in agricultural practice between organic and conventional systems. Using two statistical methods of network inference, we showed that network-level properties, especially ß-properties, could detect change. Moreover, consensus networks revealed robust signals of interactions between the most abundant species, which differed between agricultural systems. These findings complemented those obtained with community-level data that showed, in particular, a greater microbial diversity in the organic system. The limitations of network-level data included (i) the very high variability of network replicates within each system; (ii) the low number of network replicates per system, due to the large number of samples needed to build each network; and (iii) the difficulty in interpreting links of inferred networks. Tools and frameworks developed over the last decade to infer and compare microbial networks are therefore relevant to biomonitoring, provided that the DNA metabarcoding data sets are large enough to build many network replicates and progress is made to increase network replicability and interpretation.

Prey choice by carabid beetles feeding on an earthworm community analysed using species- and lineage-specific PCR primers.

The carabid beetle Pterostichus melanarius is a major natural enemy of pests, such as aphids and slugs in agricultural systems. Earthworms are a dominant non-pest component of the diet of P. melanarius which help sustain the beetles during periods when the pest population is low or absent. In this study we wanted to test whether this predator exercises prey choice among different earthworm species or ecological groups. High levels of genetic diversity within morphological species of earthworm necessitated the development of primers that were specific not just to species but lineages and sub-lineages within species as well. Gut samples from beetles were analysed using multiplex-PCR and fluorescent-labelled primers. Calibratory feeding trials were undertaken to calculate median detection times for prey DNA following ingestion. Extensive testing demonstrated that the primers were species-specific, that detection periods were negatively related to amplicon size and that meal size had a highly significant effect on detection periods. Monte Carlo simulations showed that, in general, worms were being predated in proportion to their densities in the field with little evidence of prey choice, other than probable avoidance of the larger, deep-living species. There was no evidence that epigeic species were being taken preferentially in comparison with endogeic species. There was also no evidence that defensive secretions by Allolobophora chlorotica reduced predation pressure on this species by P. melanarius. We concluded that any management system that increases earthworm densities generally, regardless of component species, is likely to be optimal for increasing numbers of this beneficial beetle predator.

The resilience of weed seedbank regulation by carabid beetles, at continental scales, to alternative prey.

Carabids are generalist predators that contribute to the agricultural ecosystem service of seedbank regulation via weed seed predation. To facilitate adoption of this ecosystem services by farmers, knowledge of weed seed predation and the resilience of seedbank regulation with co-varying availability of alternative prey is crucial. Using assessments of the seedbank and predation on seed cards in 57 cereal fields across Europe, we demonstrate a regulatory effect on the soil seedbank, at a continental scale, by groups formed of omnivore, seed-eating (granivore + omnivore) and all species of carabids just prior to the crop-harvest. Regulation was associated with a positive relationship between the activity-density of carabids and seed predation, as measured on seed cards. We found that per capita seed consumption on the cards co-varied negatively with the biomass of alternative prey, i.e. Aphididae, Collembola and total alternative prey biomass. Our results underline the importance of weed seedbank regulation by carabids, across geographically significant scales, and indicate that the effectiveness of this biocontrol may depend on the availability of alternative prey that disrupt the weed seed predation.

Molecular analysis indicates high levels of carabid weed seed consumption in cereal fields across Central Europe.

Carabid beetles are abundant in temperate agroecosystems and can play a pivotal role as biocontrol agents. While there is good knowledge regarding their effects on invertebrate pests in some systems, comparably little is known on the rate of seed feeding under field conditions. Molecular approaches are ideally suited for investigating carabid feeding interactions; to date, however, they have only been applied to animal prey. We sampled adult carabid beetles in organic cereal fields in three regions along a Central European transect. Regurgitates from populations of the three most common species, Poecilus cupreus, Pseudoophonus rufipes and Pterostichus melanarius, were screened for plant DNA, cereal aphids, collembolans and earthworms. The frequency of carabid individuals positive for plant DNA was high (> 70%) and independent of carabid species, sex, region and the time point of sampling. Detections for non-pest and pest prey were comparably lower, with 21.6% for collembolans, 18.1% for earthworms and 4.2% for aphids, respectively. Despite the prolonged detection period of plant DNA in carabid guts, as compared to animal prey, these first results suggest that weed seeds form an important part of the adult carabid diet. It would also lend support to the hypothesis that seed-feeding carabids are biocontrol agents of weeds, with effects of regulation on the weed seedbank that depend on behavioural and contextual factors including carabid species preferences for weed seed species, their life stage and tillage practices.

Ecological networks reveal resilience of agro-ecosystems to changes in farming management.

Sustainable management of ecosystems and growth in agricultural productivity is at the heart of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. New management regimes could revolutionize agricultural production, but require an evaluation of the risks and opportunities. Replacing existing conventional weed management with genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops, for example, might reduce herbicide applications and increase crop yields, but remains controversial owing to concerns about potential impacts on biodiversity. Until now, such new regimes have been assessed at the species or assemblage level, whereas higher-level ecological network effects remain largely unconsidered. Here, we conduct a large-scale network analysis of invertebrate communities across 502 UK farm sites to GMHT management in different crop types. We find that network-level properties were overwhelmingly shaped by crop type, whereas network structure and robustness were apparently unaltered by GMHT management. This suggests that taxon-specific effects reported previously did not escalate into higher-level systemic structural change in the wider agricultural ecosystem. Our study highlights current limitations of autecological assessments of effect in agriculture in which species interactions and potential compensatory effects are overlooked. We advocate adopting the more holistic system-level evaluations that we explore here, which complement existing assessments for meeting our future agricultural needs.

Risk of predation makes foragers less choosy about their food.

Animals foraging in the wild have to balance speed of decision making and accuracy of assessment of a food item's quality. If resource quality is important for maximizing fitness, then the duration of decision making may be in conflict with other crucial and time consuming tasks, such as anti-predator behaviours or competition monitoring. Individuals facing the risk of predation and/or competition should adjust the duration of decision making and, as a consequence, their level of choosiness for resources. When exposed to predation, the forager could either maintain its level of choosiness for food items but accept a reduction in the amount of food items consumed or it could reduce its level of choosiness and accept all prey items encountered. Under competition risk, individuals are expected to reduce their level of choosiness as slow decision making exposes individuals to a higher risk of opportunity costs. To test these predictions, the level of choosiness of a seed-eating carabid beetle, Harpalus affinis, was examined under 4 different experimental conditions of risk: i) predation risk; ii) intraspecific competition; iii) interspecific competition; and, iv) control. All the risks were simulated using chemical cues from individual conspecifics or beetles of different species that are predatory or granivorous. Our results show that when foraging under the risk of predation, H. affinis individuals significantly reduce their level of choosiness for seeds. Reductions in level of choosiness for food items might serve as a sensible strategy to reduce both the total duration of a foraging task and the cognitive load of the food quality assessment. No significant differences were observed when individuals were exposed to competition cues. Competition, (i.e opportunity cost) may not be perceived as risk high enough to induce changes in the level of choosiness. Our results suggest that considering the amount of items consumed, alone, would be a misleading metric when assessing individual response to a risk of predation. Foraging studies should therefore also take in account the decision making process.

Next-Generation Global Biomonitoring: Large-scale, Automated Reconstruction of Ecological Networks.

We foresee a new global-scale, ecological approach to biomonitoring emerging within the next decade that can detect ecosystem change accurately, cheaply, and generically. Next-generation sequencing of DNA sampled from the Earth's environments would provide data for the relative abundance of operational taxonomic units or ecological functions. Machine-learning methods would then be used to reconstruct the ecological networks of interactions implicit in the raw NGS data. Ultimately, we envision the development of autonomous samplers that would sample nucleic acids and upload NGS sequence data to the cloud for network reconstruction. Large numbers of these samplers, in a global array, would allow sensitive automated biomonitoring of the Earth's major ecosystems at high spatial and temporal resolution, revolutionising our understanding of ecosystem change.

Investigation of Amino Acids As Herbicides for Control of Orobanche minor Parasitism in Red Clover.

Certain amino acids induce inhibitory effects in plant growth due to feedback inhibition of metabolic pathways. The inhibition patterns depend on plant species and the plant developmental stage. Those amino acids with inhibitory action on specific weeds could be utilized as herbicides, however, their use for weed control has not been put into practice. Orobanche minor is a weed that parasitizes red clover. O. minor germination is stimulated by clover root exudates. The subsequent seedling is an obligated parasite that must attach quickly to the clover root to withdraw its nutrients. Early development of O. minor is vulnerable to amino acid inhibition and therefore, a series of in vitro, rhizotron, and field experiments were conducted to investigate the potential of amino acids to inhibit O. minor parasitism. In in vitro experiments it was found that among a collection of 20 protein amino acids, lysine, methionine and tryptophan strongly interfere with O. minor early development. Field research confirmed their inhibitory effect but revealed that methionine was more effective than lysine and tryptophan, and that two successive methionine applications at 308 and 543 growing degree days inhibited O. minor emergence in red clover up to 67%. We investigated additional effects with potential to influence the practical use of amino acids against broomrape weeds, whether the herbicidal effect may be reversible by other amino acids exuded by host plants or may be amplified by inducing host resistance barriers against O. minor penetration. This paper suggests that amino acids may have the potential to be integrated into biorational programs of broomrape management.

Weed seed resources for birds in fields with contrasting conventional and genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops.

The UK Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs) have shown that the use of broad spectrum herbicides on genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops can have dramatic effects on weed seed production compared to management of conventional varieties. Here, we use FSE data and information on bird diets to determine how GMHT cropping might change the food resources available to farmland birds. More than 60 fields of each of four crops, spring- and winter-sown oilseed rape, beet and maize, were split, one half being sown with a conventional variety, the other with a GMHT variety. Seed rain from weeds known to be important in the diets of 17 granivorous farmland bird species was measured under the two treatments. In beet and spring oilseed rape, rain of weed seeds important in the diets of 16 bird species was significantly reduced in GMHT compared to conventional halves; for no species did it increase. In winter oilseed rape, rain of weed seeds important in the diets of 10 species was significantly reduced in GMHT halves; for only one species did it increase significantly. By contrast, in maize, rain of weed seeds important in the diets of seven species was significantly greater in GMHT halves; for no species was it reduced. Treatment effects for the total weed seed energy available to each bird species were very similar to those for seed rain alone. Measuring the effects on individual bird species was outside the scope of this study. Despite this, these results suggest that should beet, spring and winter rape crops in the UK be largely replaced by GMHT varieties and managed as in the FSEs, this would markedly reduce important food resources for farmland birds, many of which declined during the last quarter of the twentieth century. By contrast, GMHT maize would be beneficial to farmland birds.

Dedicated biomass crops can enhance biodiversity in the arable landscape.

Suggestions that novel, non-food, dedicated biomass crops used to produce bioenergy may provide opportunities to diversify and reinstate biodiversity in intensively managed farmland have not yet been fully tested at the landscape scale. Using two of the largest, currently available landscape-scale biodiversity data sets from arable and biomass bioenergy crops, we take a taxonomic and functional trait approach to quantify and contrast the consequences for biodiversity indicators of adopting dedicated biomass crops on land previously cultivated under annual, rotational arable cropping. The abundance and community compositions of biodiversity indicators in fields of break and cereal crops changed when planted with the dedicated biomass crops, miscanthus and short rotation coppiced (SRC) willow. Weed biomass was consistently greater in the two dedicated biomass crops than in cereals, and invertebrate abundance was similarly consistently higher than in break crops. Using canonical variates analysis, we identified distinct plant and invertebrate taxa and trait-based communities in miscanthus and SRC willows, whereas break and cereal crops tended to form a single, composite community. Seedbanks were shown to reflect the longer term effects of crop management. Our study suggests that miscanthus and SRC willows, and the management associated with perennial cropping, would support significant amounts of biodiversity when compared with annual arable crops. We recommend the strategic planting of these perennial, dedicated biomass crops in arable farmland to increase landscape heterogeneity and enhance ecosystem function, and simultaneously work towards striking a balance between energy and food security.

Invertebrate biodiversity in maize following withdrawal of triazine herbicides.

Responses of key invertebrates within Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs) of maize reflected advantageous effects for weeds under genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) management. Triazine herbicides constitute the main weed control in current conventional systems, but will be withdrawn under future EU guidelines. Here, we reappraise FSE data to predict effects of this withdrawal on invertebrate biodiversity under alternative management scenarios. Invertebrate indicators showed remarkably consistent and sensitive responses to weed abundance. Their numbers were consistently reduced by atrazine used prior to seedling emergence, but at reduced levels compared to similar observations for weeds. Large treatment effects were, therefore, maintained for invertebrates when comparing other conventional herbicide treatments with GMHT, despite reduced differences in weed abundance. In particular, benefits of GMHT remained under comparisons with best estimates of future conventional management without triazines. Pitfall trapped Collembola, seed-feeding carabids and a linyphiid spider followed closely trends for weeds and may, therefore, prove useful for modelling wider biodiversity effects of herbicides. Weaker responses to triazines applied later in the season, at times closer to the activity and capture of invertebrates, suggest an absence of substantial direct effects. Contrary responses for some suction-sampled Collembola and the carabid Loricera pilicornis were probably caused by a direct deleterious effect of triazines.