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
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