Climate-driven disruption of multitrophic interactions: cascading impacts on beneficial insects, ecosystem functioning, and food security

TY - JOUR

T1 - Climate-driven disruption of multitrophic interactions

T2 - cascading impacts on beneficial insects, ecosystem functioning, and food security

AU - Wakil, Waqas

AU - Kavallieratos, Nickolas G.

AU - Boukouvala, Maria C.

AU - Gidari, Demeter Lorentha S.

AU - Filintas, Constantin S.

AU - Ghazanfar, Muhammad Usman

AU - Basit, Abdul

AU - Liu, Tong-Xian

AU - Bennett, Joanne M.

AU - Liu, Jian

AU - Gurr, Geoff M.

AU - Hernández-Rivera, Álvaro

AU - González-Tokman, Daniel

AU - Dattilo, Wesley

AU - Escobar, Federico

AU - Bryan, Caleb B.

AU - Prager, Sean M.

AU - Alhewairini, Saleh S.

AU - Harvey, J.A.

PY - 2026/9/23

Y1 - 2026/9/23

N2 - Beneficial insects are vital to the stability of ecosystems and global food production through their roles in pollination, pest regulation, and nutrient cycling. However, the accelerating pace of anthropogenic climate change poses serious threats to their survival and functionality. This review examines how anthropogenic threats, focusing principally on climate change, impact the biology, behavior, and ecological interactions of pollinators, natural enemies (predators and parasitoids), and dung beetles. Under climate warming, pollinators face temporal mismatches with flowering plants, reduced foraging efficiency, and habitat loss, risking declines in crop yields and biodiversity. Natural enemies experience disruptions in trophic interactions and reduced effectiveness in pest control due to temperature-induced mismatches and physiological stress. Organic matter recyclers, such as dung beetles, are threatened by changing land use, and shifting thermal niches leading to declines in dung removal, impairing ecosystem functioning. Conservation strategies such as habitat restoration and agroecological practices offer pathways to support beneficial insect assemblages. Modeling tools, such as Joint Species Distribution Models (JSDMs) and ecological network analyses, have advancing predictive capabilities for future scenarios. By integrating predictive modelling, AI-enabled data synthesis, and global surveillance networks, future research can shift from retrospective assessments to anticipatory forecasts that support proactive conservation of beneficial insects and the ecosystem services they provide.

AB - Beneficial insects are vital to the stability of ecosystems and global food production through their roles in pollination, pest regulation, and nutrient cycling. However, the accelerating pace of anthropogenic climate change poses serious threats to their survival and functionality. This review examines how anthropogenic threats, focusing principally on climate change, impact the biology, behavior, and ecological interactions of pollinators, natural enemies (predators and parasitoids), and dung beetles. Under climate warming, pollinators face temporal mismatches with flowering plants, reduced foraging efficiency, and habitat loss, risking declines in crop yields and biodiversity. Natural enemies experience disruptions in trophic interactions and reduced effectiveness in pest control due to temperature-induced mismatches and physiological stress. Organic matter recyclers, such as dung beetles, are threatened by changing land use, and shifting thermal niches leading to declines in dung removal, impairing ecosystem functioning. Conservation strategies such as habitat restoration and agroecological practices offer pathways to support beneficial insect assemblages. Modeling tools, such as Joint Species Distribution Models (JSDMs) and ecological network analyses, have advancing predictive capabilities for future scenarios. By integrating predictive modelling, AI-enabled data synthesis, and global surveillance networks, future research can shift from retrospective assessments to anticipatory forecasts that support proactive conservation of beneficial insects and the ecosystem services they provide.

U2 - 10.1127/entomologia/3958

DO - 10.1127/entomologia/3958

M3 - Article

SN - 0171-8177

VL - 46

SP - 1003

EP - 1019

JO - Entomologia Generalis

JF - Entomologia Generalis

IS - 4

ER -