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# Spain — Birds and bats appear to control orchard pests through different pathways
- URL: https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/issue-001-09-spain-birds-and-bats-appear-to-control-orchard-pests-through-different-pathways/
- Published: 2026-09-11T22:41:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T22:41:51.000Z
- Description: Birds and bats appear to control orchard pests through different pathways. New work combining interaction networks, trophic cascades and species traits found that abundant birds and bats can both contribute to pest control but through distinct direct and intraguild-predation mechanisms.
- Author: Benjamin Worlund
- Tags: Wildlife, Land, #ecological-intelligence, #brief-2026-09-11, #global-radar, #geo-europe, #system-agricultural, #Import 2026-09-11 18:32, #peer-reviewed

Geography

Spain

System

Fruit orchards

Evidence

Peer-reviewed study

## WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

Birds and bats appear to control orchard pests through different pathways. New work combining interaction networks, trophic cascades and species traits found that abundant birds and bats can both contribute to pest control but through distinct direct and intraguild-predation mechanisms.

## WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

The management implication is diversity of functional pathways, not simply “more insectivores.”

## CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

The reported pathways are specific to the orchard systems and taxa studied. Predator presence alone does not quantify the pest-control benefit elsewhere.

## SOURCE

Journal of Applied Ecology · Jiménez-Albarral et al. · 2026  
[View original evidence ↗](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70566?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

From Issue 001 · 11 September 2026

Ecological outcomes depend on context: the intervention, the place, the system and the timescale.

[Read the full Morning Brief →](https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/morning-brief-2026-09-11/)