Masters of Science / African brown house snakes (Boaedon capensis) are widely thought to be dietary specialists that predominantly consume rodents. Given their ubiquitous distribution, these snakes potentially play an important role in controlling rodent populations throughout their range. However, the full extent of the diet of this species remains poorly quantified, and the proportional importance of mammals to their diet is speculative. Moreover, little is known regarding intraspecific dietary variation of these snakes. In recent years, a dearth of reports of B. capensis feeding, particularly from novel information-sharing streams available through social media, suggests that the diet of these snakes may be broader than previously thought. B. capensis are not rodent specialists as amphibians (3%), birds (12%), and reptiles (38%) collectively comprise a significant proportion of their diet. There was no evidence for sexual size dimorphism or dietary variation between adult males and females. However, significant differences in morphology and prey utilisation between adults and juveniles indicate an ontogenetic shift in diet from small lizards to larger, and more diverse prey. Variation in climate and time of year did not affect diet. Importantly, the diet of B. capensis as presented by museum data vastly differed compared to literature and community science reports. In particular, the proportional use of reptiles differed across sources (museum data = 6%; community science data = 27%). Overall, my findings reiterate the importance of examining multiple sources of information when characterizing the diet of species, as these multiple sources provide different result outcomes.

Generalist predators can contribute to vital ecosystem services by potentially inducing trophic cascades as natural enemies of pests in agroecosystems. As the human population of the world gets larger, we need to produce more food on ever-smaller swaths of available land relying on ecosystem services, in the form of pest control, that may contribute to agricultural sustainability. Teasing apart the exact trophic linkages between predators and prey is a vital first step and essential to uncovering which predators are inducing trophic cascades and should be enhanced through conservation biological control. Combined with ecological experimentation, the main tool used throughout my research to identify trophic linkages is molecular gut-content analysis. I began by investigating mass sampling techniques and found they do not cause contamination in gut-content analysis and may be a simple method for collecting large numbers of cryptic predators for use in determining trophic linkages. Additionally, my research uncovered trophic interactions between stink bugs and generalist predators at multiple scales. Overall, I successfully designed molecular methods to investigate relationships between agricultural pests and generalist predators. A multi-year field study uncovered low predation on stink bug pests in contrast to previous research suggesting that generalist predators were contributing highly to biological control. This research highlights the need for replicated studies before making broad conservation biological control decisions. Although generalist predators were not consuming stink bugs in large numbers, my field cage study showed evidence of superfluous killing by spiders on adult stink bugs, highlighting the need to combine ecological studies with molecular methods to understand consumptive and non-consumptive effects on prey items. Gut-content analysis showed no evidence of consumption, but the field cage study allowed me to uncover the complicated relationships between spiders and stink bugs. In addition, I showed an invasive species can be detected in new areas through molecular gut-content analysis of predators before other sampling methods.

Poison hemlock, Conium maculatum (Apiaceae), is an invasive plant in North America with a unique toxic chemistry. Previous research on this plant has focused on identifying herbivores as potential biological control agents or describing the toxic plant alkaloids. However, none have examined the role of higher trophic levels in the food web surrounding poison hemlock. Generalist predators and food web interactions are an important component of studies investigating invasion effects, as plant or animal introductions can alter ecosystem functioning. In this study, predators in poison hemlock were sampled at the foliar and epigeal levels, resulting in 956 Carabidae and 321 Coccinellidae being collected. Predator connectedness to plant resources was quantified using molecular gut-content and chemical analyses. Foliar Harmonia axyridis (Coccinellidae) contained aphid DNA and plant chemicals, while Harpalus pensylvanicus (Carabidae) only contained alkaloids, suggesting that the ground predators were obtaining plant chemicals via alternative prey. Feeding trials between H. axyridis and their potentially toxic prey, Hyadaphis foeniculi (Aphididae), revealed that the exotic predator shows faster development when consuming aphids from poison hemlock compared to alternative diets. This study reveals that three Eurasian species may be facilitating one another, illustrating the importance of continued examination of invasive species interactions.

According to optimal foraging theory, generalist predators, such as spiders, are thought to feed indiscriminately on prey according to its availability, especially when food is scarce. In contrast, generalists can display selective feeding decisions under regimes of high prey abundance, but few studies have tracked changes in prey choice on a seasonal basis under open field conditions. Additionally, adaptations to surviving winter have been largely ignored in the research of foraging behavior. To elucidate this, I monitored prey availability and collected common forest-dwelling wolf spiders for molecular gut-content analysis, in parallel for 18 months, to assess the temporal changes occurring in spider preferences of common leaf litter prey. In addition, to determine if any physiological improvements to resisting low temperature mortality were affecting spider foraging, I also collected spiders monthly to track changes in spider supercooling points. The results revealed that spiders do exhibit selective feeding throughout the year, and appear to do so in a way that diversifies their diets. Also, despite low litter temperatures putting them in severe freezing risk, cold tolerance in these spiders remained unchanged throughout the winter, which suggests opportunity for growth during this uncompetitive period is paramount to accumulating survivorship-increasing, but also mobility-decreasing, cryoprotectants.

Dans les agroécosystèmes, la biodiversité fonctionnelle et la biodiversité associée fournissent de nombreux services à l'homme dont la pollinisation, la régulation biologique et le cycle des nutriments. L'association des cultures est une pratique agricole qui augmente la diversité des plantes dans les agroécosystèmes, fournit des ressources alimentaires alternatives et structure les communautés des arthropodes. Elle favorise les prédateurs généralistes pour la régulation biologique des ravageurs. Cette étude vise à comprendre comment la diversité des plantes, à l'échelle de la parcelle, structure les réseaux trophiques des arthropodes et peut participer à améliorer la régulation biologique des ravageurs. Tout d'abord, une méta-analyse a été réalisée afin de rechercher la relation générale liant la diversité végétale considérée à l'échelle locale et le contrôle des insectes ravageurs par les prédateurs généralistes. Ensuite, sur un réseau de 20 parcelles paysannes de la région de Njombé au Cameroun, nous avons étudié l'effet de la diversité des plantes cultivées sur la structure du réseau trophique des arthropodes. Les résultats ont montré que l'abondance des prédateurs était positivement corrélée avec la diversité des plantes alors que celle des herbivores était négativement corrélée avec la diversité des plantes. L'effet inverse de la diversité des plantes sur les abondances des prédateurs et des herbivores suggère que des effets top-down structurent la communauté des arthropodes dans les parcelles de plantain. Enfin, l'effet de trois cultures couramment associées au plantain (maïs Zea mays, macabo Xanthosoma sagittifolium, et pistache Lagenaria siceraria) sur i) la structure de la communauté des fourmis et ii) les dégâts de Cosmopolites sordidus ont été étudiés dans un essai réalisé en station expérimentale. Les trois cultures associées ont eu un effet significatif sur l'abondance de tous les taxa de fourmis collectés mais le sens et la magnitude de cet effet ont varié selon les taxa. Cela montre le levier que constituent les cultures associées pour structurer la communauté des prédateurs généralistes de l'agroécosystème. Les abondances de tous les taxa de fourmis étaient également corrélées avec les dégâts de C. sordidus. Les abondances de Camponotus spp., Monomorium spp., Paratrechina longicornis et Tetramorium sp. étaient négativement corrélées avec les dégâts de C. sordidus montrant leur potentiel de régulation de ce ravageur. Cette étude à l'échelle de la communauté de l'agroécosystème suggère qu'il est nécessaire de prendre en compte les effets de la diversité végétale à tous les niveaux trophiques pour espérer maximiser le service de régulation des ravageurs.Mots clés : Diversité des plantes, cultures associées, réseaux trophiques, arthropodes, fourmis, structure de la communauté / Functional diversity and associated biodiversity in agroecosystems provide and promote important services to human society such as pollination, biological control, and nutrient cycling. Intercropping is a practical way to increase plant diversity in agroecosystems and participates to provide alternative foods and to structure arthropod communities, including generalist predators involved in pest control. To better understand how plant diversity structures the arthropod food web and how the control of pest may be optimized, we first made one meta-analysis to understand the mechanisms linking plant diversity to pest control by generalist predators at local scale. We second studied the effect of plant diversity on the arthropod community in contrasted plantain fields. We showed that predator abundance was positively correlated with plant diversity while herbivore abundance was negatively correlated with plant diversity. This strong and inverse effect of plant diversity on herbivore and predator abundance suggests that top-down forces structure the arthropod community in plantain fields and that it should be possible to structure the predator community to better control herbivores including pests. In a third step, we measured the effect of combinations of three associated crops maize Zea mays, cocoyam Xanthosoma sagittifolium and gourd Lagenaria siceraria as intercrops on ant community structure and then the effect relation between ant abundances with Cosmopolites sordidus damages. The three associated plants had a significant effect on abundance of all ant species but in different magnitudes and with either negative or positive effect showing that the selection of plant species that are intercropped is an efficient way to structure the ant community. The abundances of all species of ants were positively or negatively correlated with the damages of C. sordidus larvae. The abundances of Camponotus spp., Monomorium spp., Paratrechina longicornis and Tetramorium sp. were negatively correlated to C. sordidus damage. These ants appear to be the best candidates for C. sordidus control. These findings will help in the design of plantain agroecosystems that enhance pest control services.Keywords: Plant diversity, intercropping, arthropod food webs, ants, interspecific interactions, habitat structure

Les carabes et les araignées sont des auxiliaires généralistes susceptibles d'exercer un contrôle efficace des ravageurs des cultures. La structure et composition de leurs communautés, ainsi que l'efficacité du contrôle biologique, dépendent de l'hétérogénéité des paysages, et en particulier de la présence d'habitats semi-naturels. Mais le rôle de la mosaïque agricole, susceptible de présenter une forte hétérogénéité dans l'espace et dans le temps, reste aujourd'hui peu connu. L'objectif de ce travail a été d'évaluer les effets de l'hétérogénéité spatiale et temporelle des paysages agricoles sur des auxiliaires généralistes et sur le potentiel de contrôle biologique. Nous avons échantillonné les communautés de carabes et d'araignées dans des parcelles de céréales, et estimé le potentiel de prédation par des pucerons sentinelles collés sur des cartes de prédation. Nous avons caractérisé l'hétérogénéité spatiale des paysages autour des parcelles de céréales par le pourcentage d'éléments boisés et la longueur du réseau de haies, la taille moyenne des parcelles agricoles, et la diversité des cultures. Nous avons également mis au point quatre nouvelles métriques qui synthétisent différents aspects de l'hétérogénéité temporelle interannuelle des surfaces cultivées. Nos résultats montrent qu'au printemps les araignées sont plus abondantes dans les parcelles de céréales situées dans des paysages composés de petites parcelles. Au début de l'été, ces paysages favorisent également les taux de prédation de pucerons mesurés par les cartes de prédation, et l'abondance des carabes qui se reproduisent au printemps et qui hivernent en tant qu'adultes dans des habitats semi-naturels. Les carabes qui hivernent dans le sol des parcelles au stade larvaire et se reproduisent à l'automne sont quant à eux favorisés par la diversité des cultures dans le paysage. Nos résultats montrent enfin que l'hétérogénéité temporelle de la mosaïque agricole - caractérisée par les changements de la diversité de cultures au cours des cinq dernières années - favorise elle aussi certaines espèces de carabes communément rencontrées dans les parcelles agricoles (Poecilus cupreus ou Pterostichus melanarius) et susceptibles de jouer un rôle important en tant qu'auxiliaires. Ces résultats mettent en avant le rôle complémentaire des bordures de champs non cultivées et de la mosaïque des cultures pour différents groupes d'auxiliaires, et soulignent l'importance de prendre en compte l'hétérogénéité spatiale et temporelle des surfaces cultivées dans l'étude de la biodiversité des paysages agricoles. Dans le contexte de réduction des produits phytosanitaires, nos résultats suggèrent que des paysages présentant une diversité de cultures importante variable dans le temps, et des petites parcelles qui favorisent l'intrication entre les habitats semi-naturels et les cultures, sont susceptibles de favoriser les auxiliaires généralistes ainsi que le potentiel de contrôle biologique des ravageurs. / In the context of reducing pesticide use, the potential role of some arthropod groups as pest natural enemies provides them an ecological and economic interest. In particular, ground beetles and spiders are generalist predators likely to be effective biocontrol agents. Previous studies have shown that the structure and composition of their communities, as well as the effectiveness of biological control, are influenced by landscape heterogeneity, and in particular by the presence of semi-natural habitats. However, the role of the crop mosaic, which can be highly heterogeneous in space and time, have been little considered. The main objective of our study was to determine the influences of spatial and temporal heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes on generalist natural enemies and the potential for biological pest control. We sampled carabid and spider communities in winter cereal fields, and estimated biological control potential using sentinel aphids glued on predation cards. We characterized the spatial heterogeneity of the landscapes around each cereal field by 1) the amount of wooded habitats and the length of the hedgerow network, 2) the average size of the agricultural fields, and 3) crop diversity. We also proposed four new metrics that synthesize different aspects of the multi-year temporal heterogeneity of cropped areas. Our results show that in spring, landscapes characterized by small fields, and therefore by a high density of non-cropped field margins, promote spiders abundance in cereal fields. In early summer, landscapes with small fields also promote aphid predation rates and the abundance of carabid spring breeders, which overwinter as adults in semi-natural habitats. Crop diversity promotes the abundance of carabids overwintering in soils of arable fields and breeding in autumn. Our results also show that the temporal heterogeneity of the crop mosaic - characterized among other things by the changes in crop diversity over a five year period - benefits some carabid species commonly found in agricultural landscapes (such as Poecilus cupreus and Pterostichus melanarius) which are likely to play an important role as pest natural enemies. These results highlight the complementary role of the crop mosaic and the non-cropped field borders for generalist natural enemies, and show the importance of taking into account the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the cultivated area in further ecological studies on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. In the context of reducing pesticide use, our results suggest that landscapes with 1) a high crop diversity that change over time, and 2) small fields that promote the interspersion between crops and semi-natural habitats, are likely to promote generalist natural enemies and biological pest control.