The Community Ecology of Herbivore Regulation in an Agroecosystem: Lessons from Complex Systems

Authors

• John Vandermeer, University of Michigan-Ann ArborFollow
• Inge Armbrecht, Universidad del Valle
• Aldo De la Mora, University of California, Riverside
• Katherine K. Ennis, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Gordon Fitch, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• David J. Gonthier, University of Kentucky
• Zachary Hajian-Forooshani, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• Hsun-Yi Hsieh, Michigan State University
• Aaron Iverson, Cornell University
• Douglas Jackson, QEDA Consulting
• Shalene Jha, University of Texas at Austin
• Estelí Jiménez-Soto, University of South FloridaFollow
• Gustavo Lopez-Bautista
• Ashley Larsen, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Kevin Li, University of Goettingen
• Heidi Liere, University of Seattle
• Andrew MacDonald, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Linda Marin
• Kaitlyn A. Mathis, Clark University
• Ivan Monagan, Columbia University
• Jonathan R. Morris, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• Theresa Ong, Dartmouth College
• Gabriella L. Pardee, University of Minnesota-Morris
• Iris Saraeny Rivera-Salinas, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• Chatura Vaiyda, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• Kimberly Williams-Guillen, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• Senay Yitbarek, University of California - Berkeley
• Shinsuke Uno, Hosei University
• Ash Zemenick, Michigan State University
• Stacy M. Philpott, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Ivette Perfecto, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2019

Keywords

agroecosystems, ecology, complex systems

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz127

Abstract

Whether an ecological community is controlled from above or below remains a popular framework that continues generating interesting research questions and takes on especially important meaning in agroecosystems. We describe the regulation from above of three coffee herbivores, a leaf herbivore (the green coffee scale, Coccus viridis), a seed predator (the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei), and a plant pathogen (the coffee rust disease, caused by Hemelia vastatrix) by various natural enemies, emphasizing the remarkable complexity involved. We emphasize the intersection of this classical question of ecology with the burgeoning field of complex systems, including references to chaos, critical transitions, hysteresis, basin or boundary collision, and spatial self-organization, all aimed at the applied question of pest control in the coffee agroecosystem.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

BioScience: A Forum for Integrating the Life Sciences, v. 69, issue 12, p. 974-996

Scholar Commons Citation

Vandermeer, John; Armbrecht, Inge; De la Mora, Aldo; Ennis, Katherine K.; Fitch, Gordon; Gonthier, David J.; Hajian-Forooshani, Zachary; Hsieh, Hsun-Yi; Iverson, Aaron; Jackson, Douglas; Jha, Shalene; Jiménez-Soto, Estelí; Lopez-Bautista, Gustavo; Larsen, Ashley; Li, Kevin; Liere, Heidi; MacDonald, Andrew; Marin, Linda; Mathis, Kaitlyn A.; Monagan, Ivan; Morris, Jonathan R.; Ong, Theresa; Pardee, Gabriella L.; Rivera-Salinas, Iris Saraeny; Vaiyda, Chatura; Williams-Guillen, Kimberly; Yitbarek, Senay; Uno, Shinsuke; Zemenick, Ash; Philpott, Stacy M.; and Perfecto, Ivette, "The Community Ecology of Herbivore Regulation in an Agroecosystem: Lessons from Complex Systems" (2019). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 2429.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/2429