Trait-based approaches to predicting biological control success: challenges and prospects

Identifying traits that are associated with success of introduced natural ene-mies in establishing and controlling pest insects has occupied researchers and biological control practitioners for decades. Unfortunately, consistent gen-eral relationships have been difficult to detect, preventing a priori ranking of candidate biological control agents based on their traits. We summarise previ-ous efforts and propose a series of potential explanations for the lack of clear patterns. We argue that the quality of current datasets is insufficient to detect complex trait-efficacy relationships and suggest several measures by which current limitations may be overcome. We conclude that efforts to address this elusive issue have not yet been exhausted and that further explorations are likely to be worthwhile.

Automated summary

Identifying traits associated with success in controlling pest insects has been a challenge for researchers and practitioners in biological control. Previous efforts have not revealed consistent patterns, preventing effective ranking of potential control agents. The quality of current datasets is insufficient to detect complex relationships, but further exploration is likely to be worthwhile.