Mealworm predation rates in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) plots, Kandista and Ujun Tanjung estates, Indonesia

Predation was measured three times in mature oil palm 2014 and six times in both mature and replanted oil palm during 2016-2017. The basic unit for the predation tests was six freshly-killed mealworms (larvae of darkling beetles, Tenebrionidae sp.) glued onto a piece of oil palm frond which had been trimmed so that ca. 10 cm of each of six leaflets remained. Exclusion and stratum treatments were applied in factorial combinations: caged and uncaged, canopy and ground. The cage exclusion treatment was designed such that most invertebrates could access the fronds but vertebrates could not: rat traps held closed with one frond unit inside and one tied to the outside as a control. The traps were metal grid boxes approximately 35 x 20 x 14 cm, with no holes wider than 1cm. One was hoisted into the palm crown while the other was placed at the edge of the harvesting circle under the same palm, to test whether predation rates varied with vertical stratum. Three sets of treatment combinations were placed in each plot, using palms selected by random-number generator. Samples were placed out in the field for approximately 24 hours before being assessed. Basic data checks were carried out (checks for impossible values, such as 11 of 10 seeds remaining). We have error-checked 50% of the data entry against the original field sheets, finding an acceptable error rate of <1% and correcting errors when we encountered them. All changes were recorded and that information remains with the dataset.

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Managing tropical agricultural ecosystems for resistance and recovery of ecosystem processes