Effects of high temperature on two mirid predators in rice ecosystem
Published Date: 9/2/2021
Source: phys.org
In recent years, atmospheric temperature has been on the increase and extreme heat events have occurred frequently, which may not only affect the growth and development of individual organisms but also disturb the inter-species balance in competition, predation and parasitism, thereby exerting deleterious impacts on biodiversity and the ecosystem. Many studies have concluded that global warming may well exacerbate phytophagous pest infestations, promote their population growth and geographic expansion, and thus increase the frequency of pest outbreaks, which will constitute a grave threat to agricultural production. As an important means of pest management, conservative insect-mediated biological control is apparently experiencing the effects of climate change. It is equally noteworthy that temperature increase is affecting the biology, predation ability, inter-species relationships, and molecular mechanisms of natural enemies.