Abstract

Every animal and plant population is surrounded by an interactive biotic and physical environment, and these enormously complex interactions often stabilize population densities to reduce the probability of a pest outbreak. However, ecological interactions are often disrupted, simplified, or overridden in managed ecosystems, reducing the impact of naturally-occurring pest population regulation and leading to outbreaks. Understanding how ecological interactions may either cause or prevent pest outbreaks can lead to crop and landscape management activities that achieve relative stability of pest populations below damaging levels without resorting to widespread and environmentally disruptive intervention.