The role of ants, birds and bats for ecosystem functions and yield in oil palm plantations

摘要: One of the world's most important and rapidly expanding crops, oil palm, is associated with low levels biodiversity. Changes in predator communities might alter ecosystem services subsequently sustainable management but these links have received little attention to date. Here, for first time, we manipulated ant flying vertebrate (birds bats) access palms six smallholder plantations Sumatra (Indonesia) measured effects on arthropod communities, related functions (herbivory, predation, decomposition pollination) crop yield. Arthropod predators increased response reductions bird access, overall effect experimental manipulations was minimal. Similarly, yield were not significant. We conclude that productivity palm are, under current pest pressure large pollinator populations, robust major predators.