Macaques can contribute to greener practices in oil palm plantations when used as biological pest control

Holzner A 1 , Ruppert N 2 , Swat F 3 , Schmidt M 4 , Weiß BM 5 , Villa G 3 Show all authors , Mansor A 3 , Mohd Sah SA 3 , Engelhardt A 6 , Kühl H 7 , Widdig A 8

Affiliations 

  • 1 Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
  • 2 School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Electronic address: n.ruppert@usm.my
  • 3 School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
  • 4 Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
  • 5 Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
  • 6 Faculty of Science, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
  • 7 Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
  • 8 Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Curr Biol, 2019 10 21;29(20):R1066-R1067.
PMID: 31639346 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.011

Abstract

Conversion of tropical forests into oil palm plantations reduces the habitats of many species, including primates, and frequently leads to human-wildlife conflicts. Contrary to the widespread belief that macaques foraging in the forest-oil palm matrix are detrimental crop pests, we show that the impact of macaques on oil palm yield is minor. More importantly, our data suggest that wild macaques have the potential to act as biological pest control by feeding on plantation rats, the major pest for oil palm crops, with each macaque group estimated to reduce rat populations by about 3,000 individuals per year (mitigating annual losses of 112 USD per hectare). If used for rodent control in place of the conventional method of poison, macaques could provide an important ecosystem service and enhance palm oil sustainability.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

MeSH terms
Similar publications