ReviewOecologia2019
An updated perspective on spiders as generalist predators in biological control.
Review in Oecologia, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 225 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spider (Araneae) Abundance and Diversity Across Land-Use Gradients.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Metabarcoding reveals the dietary diversity and food web structure of spider functional guilds in a highly diverse subtropical forest.Oecologia · 2026Article
- Optimizing Habitat Management to Boost Beneficial Insect Populations for Effective Rice Pest Control.Insects · 2026Review
- Genomic signature of repeated transitions to diurnality in spiders.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Comparing Spider Sampling Methods in a Eucalypt Forest in Wet and Dry Conditions.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Artificial Pond Habitats Placed in an Australian Berry Farm Support Invertebrate Diversity Including Pollinating Flies.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Winter-active spiders (Clubiona) have a hyperactive antifreeze protein with a unique beta-solenoid fold.The FEBS journal · 2026Article
- Article
- The nutritional status of Heliophanus spiders shifts their food preferences for aphid prey over intraguild spider prey.Environmental entomology · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- Species inventory and morphological measurements of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) and ants (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Formicidae) collected in northern Ghana.Biodiversity data journal · 2026Article
- Ecosystem services provided by spiders.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- The dynamic nature of cereal food webs challenges the suitability of snapshot sampling for assessing ecosystem services.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effects of Yeast on the Growth and Development ofInsects · 2025Article
- The critical role of arachidonic acid on molting in spiders.Current zoology · 2025Article
- Effects of soil nutrient enrichment on trophic interactions between herbivorous insects and foliage spiders in Patagonian forests.Oecologia · 2025Article
- A Holistic Approach to Parasitoid-Host Interaction Along an Elevational Gradient Revealed Coevolution Driven by Host Foraging Strategy.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Article
- Molecular identification of predation on the Dubas bug (Hemiptera: Tropiduchidae) in Oman date palms: density-dependent response to prey.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The role of generalist predators in biological control remains controversial as they may not only reduce pest populations but also disrupt biocontrol exerted by other natural enemies. Here, we focus on spiders as a model group of generalist predators. They are among the most abundant and most diverse natural enemies in agroecosystems. We review their functional traits that influence food-web dynamics and pest suppression at organisational levels ranging from individuals to communities. At the individual and population levels, we focus on hunting strategy, body size, life stage, nutritional target, and personality (i.e., consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour). These functional traits determine the spider trophic niches. We also focus on the functional and numerical response to pest densities and on non-consumptive effects of spiders on pests. At the community level, we review multiple-predator effects and effect of alternative prey on pest suppression. Evidence for a key role of spiders in pest suppression is accumulating. Importantly, recent research has highlighted widespread non-consumptive effects and complex intraguild interactions of spiders. A better understanding of these effects is needed to optimize biocontrol services by spiders in agroecosystems.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.