Data from: Arthropod but not bird predation in Ethiopian homegardens is higher in tree-poor than in tree-rich landscapes

Bird and arthropod predation is often associated with natural pest control
in agricultural landscapes, but the rates of predation may vary with the
amount of tree cover or other environmental factors. We examined bird and
arthropod predation in three tree-rich and three tree-poor landscapes
across southwestern Ethiopia. Within each landscape we selected three
tree-rich and three tree-poor homegardens in which we recorded the number
of tree species and tree stems within 100 × 100 m surrounding the central
house. To estimate predation rates, we attached plasticine caterpillars on
leaves of two coffee and two avocado shrubs in each homegarden, and
recorded the number of attacked caterpillars for 7–9 consecutive weeks.
The overall mean daily predation rate was 1.45% for birds and 1.60% for
arthropods. The rates of arthropod predation varied among landscapes and
were higher in tree-poor landscapes. There was no such difference for
birds. Within landscapes, predation rates from birds and arthropods did
not vary between tree-rich and tree-poor homegardens in either tree-rich
or tree-poor landscapes. The most surprising result was the lack of
response by birds to tree cover at either spatial scale. Our results
suggest that in tree-poor landscapes there are still enough non-crop
habitats to support predatory arthropods and birds to deliver strong
top-down effect on crop pests.

bird and arthropod
predation rateThe bird and arthropod
predation rates data on plasticine caterpillars was collected from 6 home
gardens of each six agricultural landscapes of southwest Ethiopia. The
data also includes the heterogeneity variation among home gardens and
landscapes.predation_env
data.xlsx