Exclosure experiments demonstrate that birds consume damaging coffee pests in Costa Rica.
This is the first time scientists have assigned a monetary value to the pest-control benefits rainforest can provide to agriculture.
Their study could provide the framework for pest management that helps both farmers and biodiversity.
In recent years, Stanford biologists have found that coffee growers in Costa Rica bolster bird biodiversity by leaving patches of their plantations as untouched rainforest.
The latest finding from these researchers suggests that the birds are returning the favor to farmers by eating an aggressive coffee bean pest, the borer beetle, thereby improving coffee bean yields by hundreds of dollars per hectare.
The study is the first to put a monetary value on the pest-control benefits rainforest can provide to agriculture, which the researchers hope can inform both farmers and conservationists.
“The benefits that we might get are huge,” said Daniel Karp, a graduate student in biology and lead author of the study. “There’s lots of unrealized value in these small patches of rainforest. This looks like a sustainable, win-win opportunity for pest management.”
The researchers hope that the work will improve conservation efforts in heavily farmed areas by illustrating to farmers the financial benefits of leaving some land in its natural state, while also guiding governments toward the best conservation methods.
Worldwide scourge
By some accounts, coffee is the world’s most economically profitable crop, and its harvest supports the livelihoods of some 100 million people globally. Coffee beans around the world, however, are threatened by the pervasive beetle.
The Latest Bing News on:
Pest-eating birds
- Chuck Martin: It's for the birdson September 22, 2023 at 9:18 am
In looking up where this statement originated from, I discovered it comes from birds eating seeds from horse droppings ... A reduction in the variety of plants means a reduced species of insects, ...
- Can You Eat Wild Hog? In Short, Hell Yeahon September 22, 2023 at 7:07 am
If you’re still concerned with risks, wear gloves while field dressing and butchering, keep the dogs away, and cook the meat to 170 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If for some reason you feel ill after ...
- Entomologist Kateřina Sam on the disappearance of birds and insects and their crucial role in the eco-systemon September 22, 2023 at 12:00 am
Entomologist Kateřina Sam has been mapping the interdependence of birds and insects and how their disappearance may affect the whole eco-system.
- More SC pests may invade your home this fall if they’re not already. Here’s why and what to doon September 20, 2023 at 3:00 am
While many types of insects do fade away for the season there are others active in the fall. More than a few will see a South Carolina home as a good place for shelter or as a source of water and food ...
- Beam Me Up, Tweety! Using lasers to keep birds out of vineyardson September 18, 2023 at 3:00 am
A viticulture extension educator in northwest Michigan is testing whether lasers could be an effective bird repellent for grape growers.
- 'The gateway drug to bird watching':15 interesting facts about amazing hummingbirdson September 15, 2023 at 7:30 am
Frigid sleepers: Johnson said the body temperatures of hummingbirds is around 104 degrees, but that can plunge at night. He said they go into a hibernation-like state when sleeping and their body ...
- Pests, birds influence NNYADP "Superfruits" research planon September 11, 2023 at 4:35 am
The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has announced that the first occurrence of spongy moth caterpillar and berry-picking birds have influenced its research at ...
- Pest control business connected to dead birds in Wrightsville Beach pays $1,600 in settlement with stateon September 1, 2023 at 4:20 am
Per the settlement, the state began an investigation into Port City Pest on Feb. 1 after people began to notice dead birds in Wrightsville Beach near where the bait was placed. Inspections were done ...
- To help birds and insects, cultivate native gardenson August 29, 2023 at 6:55 pm
But lots of people care deeply about the creatures that rely on those insects for food, such as the world’s rapidly declining bird populations. Through his books and lectures, Tallamy has inspired ...
- KS1 Science: What do urban birds eat?on July 30, 2022 at 8:27 am
A look at the different foods eaten by urban birds. Nuts, insects, worms, slugs, mealworms and fruit all contribute to their diet. This short film comes from the BBC series, See You See Me.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Pest-eating birds
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Pest-eating birds” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Fix the internet
- Modern Masculinity Is Broken. She Knows How to Fix It.on September 24, 2023 at 2:01 am
We need to work out what we want the future to look like for men in a way that women have already done,” says Caitlin Moran, the best-selling feminist author.
- ChatGPT network error: 6 ways to fix the problemon September 24, 2023 at 12:52 am
ChatGPT's network error can seem frustrating, but we have a few easy fixes you can try to get it back up and running again.
- Using the power of Web3 to create the Internet we always wantedon September 23, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Trillion-dollar digital behemoths like Google and Amazon tower over us. They’re too big to fail. They’re also too big to care – about user privacy, competition, government regulations or ...
- Best ways to boost your internet WiFi signal in your homeon September 23, 2023 at 10:39 am
Helen could also consider using a WiFi extender to improve her WiFi signal at home. A WiFi extender is a device that amplifies and retransmits the internet signal from the router to areas where it is ...
- How to Fix the Windows Activation Error 0x803F700Fon September 23, 2023 at 9:16 am
T he Windows activation error 0x803F700F, which is typically accompanied by a message stating “Something prevented us from communicating with our activation servers" occurs when a Windows operating ...
- How to fix the Nebula Connection login error in Payday 3on September 21, 2023 at 9:48 am
If you’re trying to log into Payday 3 when the servers can’t handle the load, you can receive different error messages, including one that tells you the Nebula connection failed. Starbreeze uses ...
- The EU's quest to fix the internet could become a privacy and security nightmareon September 21, 2023 at 6:18 am
Experts warn proposed revisions could lead to greater surveillance, censorship, and false security. We spoke to Mozilla to learn more—here's what they said.
- Why Is AT&T Internet Slow? How To Fix It Faston September 20, 2023 at 10:25 pm
Ways to Fix Slow AT&T Internet Fast No one likes dealing with slow internet—especially if you are paying for AT&T with the expectation that it will be fast and reliable. To get your internet ...
- Alaskans to See Internet Service Return Following Fiber Repairon September 20, 2023 at 2:18 pm
The damage to an undersea fiber-optic cable happened in the middle of June when sea ice severed the cable, causing Internet and cell outages in several North Slope and Northwest Arctic communities.
- Severed cable off Arctic Alaska repaired, restoring internet and cellular serviceon September 20, 2023 at 2:50 am
Several telecom providers switched back to fiber optic service, while others, including GCI, were still working on the transition.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Fix the internet
[google_news title=”” keyword=”fix the internet” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
