Abstract
Invasive insect pests cost the agricultural industry billions of dollars annually in crop losses. Timely detection of pests is critical for management efficiency. Innovative pest detection strategies, such as environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques, combined with efficient predators, maximize sampling resolution across space and time and may improve surveillance. We tested the hypothesis that temperate insectivorous bats can be important sentinels of agricultural insect pest surveillance. Specifically, we used a new high-sensitivity molecular assay for invasive brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys) to examine the extent to which big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) detect agricultural pests in the landscape. We documented consistent seasonal predation of stink bugs by big brown bats. Importantly, bats detected brown marmorated stink bugs 3–4 weeks earlier than the current standard monitoring tool, blacklight traps, across all sites. We highlight here the previously unrecognized potential ecosystem service of bats as agents of pest surveillance (or chirosurveillance). Additional studies examining interactions between other bat and insect pest species, coupled with comparisons of detectability among various conventional monitoring methods, are needed to verify the patterns extracted from this study. Ultimately, robust economic analyses will be needed to assess the cost-effectiveness of chirosurveillance as a standard strategy for integrated pest management.
Highlights
Agricultural insect pests cost the U.S agricultural industry $33 billion per year in crop losses [1]
Our results demonstrate that big brown bats recognize brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB), a recent NJ arrival but already an important agricultural pest, as a prey item that can be considered a common dietary component across the season
Two factors potentially forged the pathway for big brown bats to adopt this invasive species as prey
Summary
Agricultural insect pests cost the U.S agricultural industry $33 billion per year in crop losses [1]. In the case of emerging invasive insect pests, prompt detection prior to establishment is critical, but the sampling effort required may be logistically or economically infeasible given the rarity of the target pest in the landscape. The primary advantages of eDNA techniques are that they can detect the presence of a target species, even when it is rare (i.e. early in the invasion or infestation), better than conventional survey methods [4, 5]. EDNA techniques have been used to identify pathogens in species of conservation concern [7], and in gut content and fecal analysis. We propose a new application of eDNA analytical techniques and lay the groundwork for the innovative use of highly mobile generalist vertebrate predators for effective invasive species surveillance in terrestrial systems
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