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Ch. 54 - Biodiversity and Conservation Ecology
Chapter 53, Problem 12

Do you drink coffee? A lot of people do—coffee is a major tropical crop, valued at over $100 billion per year. The most popular species of coffee, Coffea arabica, originated in Africa and is now planted extensively in Central and South America. The pest called the coffee berry borer beetle (Hypothenemus hampeii) moved along with the coffee and is a major problem for coffee farmers, sometimes destroying half of the coffee crop in mature plantations. Pesticides are generally ineffective in killing coffee berry borers. Ecologist Daniel Karp and colleagues conducted a study in Costa Rica to determine if natural predators like birds reduce the beetle population. The researchers selected 12 control plots and used nets to exclude birds from 12 similar treatment plots. What is the take-home message of the graph? (Remember, * means P 6 0.05)

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Examine the graph to understand the variables: the x-axis represents the plots before and after exclosure nets were installed, and the y-axis represents the percentage of berries with borers.
Note the two different plot types: control plots (red) and treatment plots (orange).
Compare the percentage of berries with borers in control and treatment plots before the exclosure nets were installed. Both are similar, around 5%.
Compare the percentage of berries with borers in control and treatment plots after the exclosure nets were installed. The treatment plots show a significant increase in borer infestation, around 9%, while control plots remain around 5%.
Conclude that excluding birds (treatment plots) leads to a significant increase in borer infestation, indicating that birds help control the coffee berry borer population.

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Do you drink coffee? A lot of people do—coffee is a major tropical crop, valued at over $100 billion per year. The most popular species of coffee, Coffea arabica, originated in Africa and is now planted extensively in Central and South America. The pest called the coffee berry borer beetle (Hypothenemus hampeii) moved along with the coffee and is a major problem for coffee farmers, sometimes destroying half of the coffee crop in mature plantations. Based on what you have learned in this chapter about global trends in terrestrial ecosystems, what is currently the largest threat to the wet tropical forests in Central America? a. habitat destruction, such as the clearing of forests for coffee plantations b. exotic species, such as the introduction of coffee berry borers c. pollution, such as the use of pesticides in coffee plantations d. climate change, such as changes in precipitation patterns

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Textbook Question

Do you drink coffee? A lot of people do—coffee is a major tropical crop, valued at over $100 billion per year. The most popular species of coffee, Coffea arabica, originated in Africa and is now planted extensively in Central and South America. The pest called the coffee berry borer beetle (Hypothenemus hampeii) moved along with the coffee and is a major problem for coffee farmers, sometimes destroying half of the coffee crop in mature plantations. Look at the graph.


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