Ecological networks reveal strong pest suppression complementarity between birds and bats within rice-dominated agroecosystems in West Africa

Abstract

The growing demand for rice across West African countries requires urgent pest control strategies that are cost-effective and ecologically sustainable. Insectivorous birds and bats can act as biocontrol agents providing pest suppression services, reducing crop damage and potentially increasing yields. Here, we combined DNA metabarcoding and network analysis to uncover the diets and pest control potential of these predators in the lowland rainfed rice fields of northern Guinea-Bissau. We identified 2276 predator–prey interactions involving 34 predator species (18 bats, 16 birds) and 1347 prey OTUs, including 87 classified rice pests. Bats and birds consumed similar numbers of pest species but exhibited largely distinct diet preferences. The predator–prey network revealed low connectance and nestedness but high modularity, suggesting a compartmentalization into relatively independent subcommunities of interacting partner species, with little dietary overlap. Our network analysis revealed that species contributing most to overall predator–prey dynamics are not always the same as those driving pest suppression. While network degree, strength and module roles revealed that species such Scotophilus otu1, Hipposideros cafer/ruber, Scotoecus otu14, Ploceus cucullatus, and Hirundo smithii are key in the predator–prey community, species such as Afronycteris nana and Euplectes franciscanus also emerged as important for pest suppression. Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining and managing a diverse community of bats and birds for network resilience and as a potential nature-based solution for sustainable rice production.