Challenges and Opportunities for Conservation Biological Control of Arthropods Under Climate Change

This chapter investigates the potential impacts of climate change on conservation biological control (CBC), focusing on pest-natural enemy interactions and ecosystem resilience. CBC is a commonly employed strategy to promote an environment that supports the persistence of diverse natural enemy populations in agro-ecosystems over both time and space, to regulate pest species. CBC utilizes habitat manipulation to enhance natural enemy populations, promoting pest control through SNAP (Shelter, Nectar, Alternative Prey). Climate change threatens these strategies by altering species distribution, phenology and abundance, exacerbated by land use changes. Such disruptions may lead to mismatches in spatial and temporal interactions between pests and natural enemies, challenging CBC effectiveness. However, there are opportunities for adaptation, including exploiting new resource subsidies due to desynchronization. This chapter highlights the dual role of habitat management in fostering trophic interactions while mitigating antagonistic impacts among biological control agents, amidst ongoing challenges and opportunities posed by climate change.