Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

At 16 years old, Shawna Huston found herself homeless after her mother died in a car accident. At 21, she remodeled and fixed up a rental she was occupying in exchange for lower rent. Three decades later, Huston would continue to spruce up and update living spaces and homes all around the county, finding her home in many.

There is something that my friends call a quintessential Shawna House, Huston said about homes she chooses to remodel. Generally, the home will have a big, beautiful front porch, be a beautiful farmhouse style with a lot of character. Those are signs of what people would call a Shawna House.

Huston got her start in remodeling homes not long after she fixed up her rental, and her inspiration to work in real estate goes back even further. When she was a child, she would ride in the back of her parents car as they looked at real estate. While she might not have understood everything her parents were talking about she knew one thing: real estate was exciting and there were opportunities everywhere. Following her rental fixup at 21, Huston bought a 10-acre parcel of land in La Center and divided the property into two separate 5-acre plots. She sold one of the 5-acre plots and used the funds to put in a well, septic system and build her first spec-house, a house you build for profit. Once she was finished, a career was born, and for the next 30 years, Huston would see, do and participate in every part of the remodeling process.

Buying, selling, designing, flipping. After 30 years, there isnt much I havent seen or done, she said, mentioning that she has worked on everything from tiny houses to homes with more than five bedrooms.

While there are a few aspects that make up a typical Shawna House, Huston said she has done everything from a small remodel that required just a new paint job, to completely renovating a house from the ground up.

When looking at homes to fix up, Huston uses a two-step process. First, she decides whether or not the project will pencil out, a phrase she uses to describe whether or not the project will work out financially. To decide whether or not it's worth it, Huston takes into account finances and how much work she is going to need to put into the house. Because Huston does nearly every part of the remodel on her own accord without contractors, some homes can take years to complete. Secondly, Huston takes into account what the house needs and where she is at personally.

I ask myself, do I want to bust my butt right now or just make this a quick flip? she said.

Instead of living in a permanent residence and flipping homes on the side, Huston moves into the house she is working on so she is always there. The home shes currently residing in with her husband Joshua, who is helping he with the project, was built around the time of the Great Depression and is a four-square with a big solid porch and has six bedrooms. According to Huston, the Woodland home was built to house workers building the railway that runs through the town in the early 1900s. Huston said it was in terrible condition when she bought it a year ago as the home lacked heating as well as having both porches caved it when she bought it. She finally moved into the home in July.

Its starting to get very cozy now, she said, mentioning that while she's doing the remodeling work, she does everything she can to not get emotionally attached to the home.

The home Shawna Huston is currently living in was built around the time of the Great Depression and housed people building the railroad. Huston said the home was in terrible condition when she bought it and is hopeful for its future.

Another unique thing Huston adds to her builds and remodels is the presence of a real wood fireplace or wood stove. Many places Huston chooses to remodel have them already installed, but if they dont, Huston makes sure they do. As to why she does it, Huston said she grew up with wood-fired heating in her home and went to bed with a potato at her feet to keep the bed warm. She wanted those memories in every house.

I just love a home that oozes comfort and joy, she said. I want everyone to feel welcome.

Huston does nearly every single part of the remodeling project on her own. If a house needs tile, shes there to install it. Fresh coats of paint and primer are applied by her as well. Everything down to the foundation is touched by Huston to ensure the final product is perfect.

Ive knocked down so many walls you wouldnt believe, she said.

Even though she does most of the heavy lifting, Huston said her favorite part of working on homes is the design process. She said houses and real estate are her art form and compared a piece of real estate to a blank canvas. She said many people will look at a house and think what a piece of crap, but Huston said she can see the end product in her mind, no matter the current situation.

People will come back a year later and see the work Ive done and just be blown away, she explained. In my mind, all I ever see is the end product.

After completing 24 homes in the Clark and Cowlitz county areas, Huston said she isnt done fixing up houses yet, but does hope to eventually retire to a piece of land with property. For now, she is the self-described queen of the five-year plan and said she always plans out five years in the future. The five-year plan keeps her on her toes and holds her accountable for her projects. Some of her favorite projects of years past were an older farmhouse in the Hockinson Area she dubbed the Original Hockinson Farmhouse and a project where she worked on a cottage near Lake Merwin with her daughter.

As Huston looks at prospects of retiring from the business, she continues to make a mark in her family. Her daughter, currently abroad in the United Kingdom, seems to have found the same love of real estate as her mother. Huston said her daughter's love of house flipping was inspired by growing up in it. Because the family never had a permanent residence, her kids were used to moving into a house and seeing every aspect of the remodel process.

They see value in something that no one else wants, Huston said of her children.

As far as permanently settling down in the future, Huston said her dream is to own a large plot of land to stay on with a beautiful house and landscaping. Because she gardens in her free time, she wants her permanent residence to have a place for garden and landscaping work. Most of all, she wants a place where she can enjoy life and create a place where a family can thrive.

Shawna Huston holds her son, Sean Haug, on the porch in front of one of her favorite projects that she dubs the Battle Ground Parkway House in 1999.

Coming where I came from at 16 and not having those things, its extremely important to me, she said. Im looking for a place where I can enjoy my grandkids and a life well lived.

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Flipping it around: Local spends time flipping houses all over the county - The Reflector

Darrell Hofheinz and Shannon Donnelly| Palm Beach Daily News

Now their neighbor might be coming home to stay.

And just like any neighborhood, opinions about the big news in Palm Beach that PresidentDonald Trump would be leaving the White House after one term following his defeat by former Vice President Joe Biden varied Saturday from somber to joyful.

"I'm disappointed," said John Scarpa, a longtime friend of President Trump. "As an American, I'm worried aboutour future."

Palm Beacher Blair Brandt, a political strategist and Republican fundraiser who helped lead money-gatheringefforts for the president in the SunshineState, said Trump had won an impressive victory in the state of Florida during Tuesdays election.

But he declined further comment due to the legal challenges the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee are waging in multiple states.

Biden, a longtime Delaware senator who served two terms as vice president under President Barack Obama, secured enough electoral votes Saturday to claim the presidencyafter winning the state count in Pennsylvania. Joining him as vice president will be California Sen. Kamala Harris, who made history as the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the second-highest office in the land.

The news of Biden's victory left Kevin Byrne "absolutely elated."

"I have regained my faith in my fellow citizens," he said. "It's like waking up from a nightmare, especially this past week."

Democrat Leta Austin Foster, a Palm Beach interior designer and retailer, alsowas relieved and happy to hear the race being called or Biden, though she sounded a note of caution.

But I know its not all over yet, she said, referring to Trumps ongoing efforts to challenge the election results. Unfortunately, that just makes people doubt the legitimacy of the vote. Im not surprised at that. I wish I were, but Im not.

>>RELATED: Trump has left his imprint on island

She added: What Im really sad about is that (the last four years) exposed how many people in this country are really racist and thats so sad. But hopefully, things will get better.

The presidential election exposed deep divisions in American society, with one side certain that a second Trump presidency would usher in a right-wing autocracy, and the other just as convinced that a Biden presidency would mean a triumph for socialism. Voters turned out in record numbers: About 161 million people voted, with Biden on track Saturday afternoonto win the popular vote by more than 4 million ballots.

Another key concern for residentssuch as Bruce Langmaid was a possible change in fiscal policy. Trump, whose secretary of commerce is fellow Palm Beacher Wilbur Ross, signed a tax cut into law in 2017 that was widely seen as beneficial to the nation's wealthiest citizens.

Langmaid said hefears a Biden Administration will increase his tax burden.

"I'm worriedabout my income taxes going up," he said. "And I wonder what this means for property values in Palm Beach."

>> RELATED: Trump has raised the town's profile

Jeff Alderton was unhappy about Saturday's development, and suggested that election anomalies were responsible.

"This has been a very difficult election process for me. It was a national election, which should have national standards ... not state-run standards, which may have interfered with the voting count, hence the outcome," he said.

But Alderton also said what mattered going forward was how the new president would work with the Senate, and "most importantly how we as Americans will be heardand react in a level-headed and respectful way."

Hanging over the election was the coronavirus pandemic, now into its eighth month and resurging strongly across the United States, where more than 236,000 people have died of the contagion and nearly 10 million people have been infected.

Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Greene, an island resident, said he is confident that Biden is better equipped than Trump to effectively tackle the demands of the coronavirus crisis.

I have been so disappointed by this administrations response to the pandemic, Greene said. Im thrilled that we have an adult in Vice President Biden who will finally address this issue.

Greene hasnt agreed with many of Trumps decisions and policies including his support of automatic assault rifles, which Greene described as weapons of mass destruction," andthe presidents appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Palm Beach Democrat Bram Majtlis said hebelieves Biden and Harris will work to protect the rights of LGBTQ people, including the legality of same-sex marriages. He and his husband, Nick Gold, were together more than 30 years before they got married a year ago.

The LGBTQ community will be in good hands with this new ticket, Majtlis said.

Democrats, he added, must work to bridge the divides that characterized the contentious election. Bidens maturity and his reputation as a centrist, Majtlis said, will help that effort.

We should reach out our hand to make one America," Majtlis said. "I think we need to be civil, and civility has been lacking over the last four years.

Nancy Brinker, a lifelong Republican and former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, also expressed hope for conciliation.

"Whether youre a Republican, Democratic or independent, we can all take a strong measure of gratification and pride from the record turnout and participation that we have witnessed in our democratic process," she said. "I am especially heartened by the record number of women who were elected to office and the message that sends to young girls across the country."

Brinker, who also served as chief of protocol at the State Department, said the world looks to America for leadership, and that means the different sides must work together.

"It is my hope that our elected leaders in Washington, regardless of party, understand that collaboration in the name of freedom and progress is no vice. There is far more that unites our great nation than divides us, she said.

Foster, the Democratic interior decorator, made national news when she was the sole person to show up in June for what she thought would be a Palm Beach protest against the death of George Floyd, the Black man who died while being detained by police in Minneapolis.

She said she is hoping Biden can help heal divisions in the country. Hes always been an across-the-aisle man, she said.

Perhaps the last word belongs to Bill Bone, who took a uniquely Palm Beach view.

"I'm glad the election has been called so I can stop talking about this and start loving my neighbors again," he said."I will never again get upset when it seems like all we worry about is parking, leaf blowers, beach sand, and the size of the second story on the new house down the street."

*

Staff writer Greg Stepanich contributed to this report.

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On the island of Palm Beach, reactions to Biden win range from gloom to elation - Palm Beach Daily News

For Michelle, an outdoor living space was a must-have.

I like to bring my cats outside with me, she says. We put them on long leashes.

A space for a table so she and Ellery can dine in the fresh air was a consideration, as well. For that reason, Michelle was excited to see the six-foot seven-inch by 16-foot two-inch balcony off the great room.

Among the couples favourite spaces within the home is its generously proportioned U-shaped kitchen.

My mother said, I know if I love a place after I cook in the kitchen and your kitchen is perfect, says Michelle, pointing to the quality of appliances and well-designed food preparation space as personal highlights.

Belwood also has a two-bedroom townhome model called the Avenue.

What makes Belwood Park so appealing is that buyers can get a home from a builder with a good reputation that has great layouts and finishes, at a great price point, says Belwood Park sales associate Andy Issik.

They also feature the ability to customize finishes to reflect the buyers own taste and personality to really make it feel like home.

As a quick possession home, the couples finishes were already in place. But they were pleased with what they saw from Stone, the interior collection featured in their home.

Its a good contrast, says Ellery, adding that the use of greys elevate other colours within their space.

I used to be an interior decorator 10 years ago, adds Michelle, who currently works with new Canadians at a not-for-profit. They have beautiful colour swatches. Its like, just pick one and youll be happy.

DEVELOPMENT: Belwood Park.BUILDER: StreetSide Developments.AREA: Belmont is a community in south Calgary.DEVELOPER: Anthem United.PRICES: Townhomes at Belwood Park start in the $250,000s.HOURS: The sales centre is open 2 to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays.INFORMATION:belwoodpark.com

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New home in Belwood Park just as connected as couple's former inner-city digs - Calgary Herald

When the majority of couples want to commit to each other they get engaged. Hiromi Yoshinaga and Zeb Whitehead got a business instead.

We joke about getting this instead of rings, Whitehead said about the Zutto Vintage and Antiques on the water side of downtown at 164 Bjune Drive SE.

They met through online dating 1 1/2 years ago. He has three kids, and she has a daughter; they all live in the area. She had owned several online businesses in Japan before coming to the states in 2005.

Yoshinaga, of Bainbridge Island, and Whitehead, of Seabeck, took over the store Sept. 1. Whitehead is retired military, but works as a mechanic on the shipyards. Yoshinaga worked in the North Kitsap School District as a secretary and paraeducator in Poulsbo.

She started looking for other opportunities when she was furloughed due to COVID-19. She collects antiques anything from mid-century to modern anything that catches my eye or is unique, she said. She had been selling antiques at Meli Melo for three years.

After buying it, they changed the name to Zutto, which means for eternity in Japanese in honor of their long history on Bainbridge Island. That includes the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and how the islanders supported them.

Thankfully, in many cases neighbors and friends stepped up and took care of these things until they were released over three years later, Yoshinaga says in an email. Zeb and I want to continue that legacy and show the true community spirit of Bainbridge Island that still thrives on Winslow Way today.

Yoshinaga said she became interested in old stuff as a child since her dad was an antique dealer.

I remember going dumpster diving together looking for treasures, she said with a laugh, adding she spent half of her early years in Japan and half in Vancouver, B.C.

Whitehead said hes new to the business, although he grew up in a 100-year-old plantation-style house with old living quarters below. There were a lot of artifacts there, he said.

Yoshinaga said all of the 28 vendors stayed when they took over, and while business was slow at first things have gotten better.

Lately its picking up, and it should get better during the holidays, she said. Were getting a lot more foot traffic from the ferry.

One key is letting people know where it is. Since its on the back side of Winslow Way, I didnt even know it was here, Whitehead said.

Mothers like to shop there. Moms come to take a break and get away from schooling their kids at home, Yoshinaga said.

Zutto has a classy look to it. Shes our decorator, Whitehead said of Yoshinaga, who has a design background with interior decorating.

Each vendor brings a unique style and a sense of creativity that brings life to the store. Hiromi has a brilliant eye for vintage and antiques. With the help of our lovely staff, she has transformed the store into a world of wonders, Zeb says in the email.

Rock Band and superhero items are in this display.

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Couple that buys business together, stays together - Bainbridge Island Review

Terminix(Photo: Terminix)

Stung by Alabama lawsuits over its business practices, Terminix Global HoldingsInc. has reached an agreement with Alabama's attorney general settling a dispute over treatmentforFormosan termites.

Memphis-based Terminix announced the agreement Thursday, reporting the settlement would result in a $7 million third-quarter loss.

The deal requires the company set up a $25 million fund to manage customer remediation measures and settle future termite damage claims disputes, and to pay the Alabama attorney general's office $19 million.

Alabama's Department of Agriculture and Industries last year investigated more than 416 consumer complaints leveled at various pest control firms, Mobile television station WPMI reported, noting complaints increased after Terminix raised its prices. In December, Terminix lost a $2 million lawsuit brought by a Mobile homeowner who contended Terminix in spite of a pest control contract failed totreatthe house for termites.

On Thursday, Terminix Global disclosedfuture termite damage claim expenses "above historical norms" will range from$140 million to $150 million through2029.

"A state-sponsored, non-litigated avenue more quickly resolves damage claim disputes, which will provide immediate benefits to our impacted customers and reduce future litigated claims,"Tony DiLucente, Terminix Global chief financial officer, said in a statement released by the company.

In Alabamaon Thursday, officials lauded the deal as relief for consumers defrauded by Terminix. The capitalcity newspaper Montgomery Advertiser quoted the attorney general, SteveMarshall, saying:"This is a historic day. Ahistoric settlement, not only as to the recovery that will take place but more importantly as to the scope of the fraud that we found with Terminix and what it did for consumers across the state."

In Mobile, Ashley Rich, the county district attorney, said Terminix targeted customers in lifetime contracts but sometimes doubled, tripled and quadrupled rates over time, the Montgomery newspaper reported, adding that "customers who were the subject of those price increases will see a refund, and anyone who left the company as a result of the change will receive $650 or be paid the difference."

The third-quarter profit report was the firstissued by Terminix Global since the former ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc. was split in October into two standalone companies ServiceMaster Brands and Terminix Global.

For the quarter, Terminix Global sales revenue rose 10%to $512 million, compared to $465 million in the same period last year, while after-tax income plunged to the$7 million loss from a $25 million profit a year earlier. The loss was driven by costs associated with the Mobile Bay settlement agreement, the company said, reportinga charge of $49 million and "a reduction intermite renewal revenue of $3 million related to the execution of the settlement."

Brett Ponton(Photo: AP)

Brett Ponton, recently hired as Terminix Global chief executive officer, issued a positive statement Thursday, saying future revenue and profits are expected to exceed forecasts made earlier in the year as the pandemic set in.

"After an eventful first 50 days on the job," Ponton said in a statement released by the company, "I am encouraged by the momentum we have as we continue our progress toward consistent, sustainable growth and profits. Strong residential revenue growth and profit margin improvement continue to provide considerable operating momentum to the underlying Terminix business.

More business news: FedEx claims it overpaid $89 million in taxes, wants refund in lawsuit vs. US government

"Progress on initiatives to improve teammate and customer retention are driving productivity improvements that are increasing profits," Ponton said. "The commercial business improved sequentially in the third quarter but remains behind the prior year as economic uncertainty from the pandemic lingers. We were also able to negotiate a favorable Formosan termite settlement in the Mobile Bay area that will improve the predictability of our results by reducing our future exposure to termite damage claims."

Following the disclosure of the Alabama settlement agreement, traders pushed Terminix Global's stock price higher Thursday morning. Shares traded at $48.90 near mid morning, up 69 cents from Wednesday's close.

Terminix Global said its services employ 10,500 workers handling 2.8 million customers in 24 countries and territories.

Kirsten Fiscus of theMontgomery Advertiser contributed to this report.

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Terminix hit by loss as it reaches deal to handle wave of consumer complaints in Alabama - Commercial Appeal

Cardon Ellis from Unipest Pest Control in Santa Clarita provides knowledge on how to properly and effectively de-web in all possible areas from spiders.

He points out that when homeowners start de-webbing to be very thorough and touch all corners of the web location. Theres a daddy long legs and the cellar sliders and everything put up high. You got to constantly be looking down low for webs, Ellis said.

Ellis wants people to make sure they are bending or on their knees to effectively remove the webs.

The most effective way to de-web isnt just to hit itthe most effective way to de-web is to actually go up in the corner where you see the webs, and then slowly spin the de-weber pole, Ellis said. You get rid of the webs that way so it wisps out the web instead of just matting it on to the onto the surface of the structure.

The de-web poles are up to 12 feet long so if you the person does not want to crawl, they can extend their pole. Having a second pair of eyes is helpful to make sure that the person eliminates all spider webs.

If homeowners have waterspouts, then they will need to make sure to check those areas since spiders like the bottom area. Patio furniture is another popular area that webs tend to form underneath. Make sure to tilt the furniture to have better access to remove the web since black widows like to hang around that area.

Related Defeat Bed Bugs With Eco-Friendly And Organic Heat Treatment

Kids toys are another popular place for spiders to form webs. Black widows really like this type of plastic, Ellis said. Once everything is done double check all the areas that have been de-webbed.

Remember to effectivity locate the webs so when it comes to small pots or pallets move things around to use the de-weber. If you have another person to help you, there job is to spray they areas that the person de-webbed.

Ellis recommends to wear goggles during the summertime because homes pile up with dust during that time of year. The dust from the home can get in your face especially if youre twisting and doing this properly, Ellis said. Gloves are not required for de-webbing.

Santa Claritas Unipest Pest Control is the best in SCV. Call today for a free inspection: 661-284-7575.

For professional assistance and care, contact Unipest by going tohttps://www.unipest.com/

The Santa Clarita pest control companyUnipestis the premiere residential and commercial pest control company for Los Angeles County. If youre looking for pest control in Santa Clarita or surrounding areas, Unipest prides itself on being your one-stop solution, and offers orange oil treatments, bee hive removal, fumigation, escrow inspections, removal of bed bugs, organic pest control and more. Unipest offers termite control in Santa Clarita as well. Residents and business owners looking for pest control near me or termite control near me are encouraged to call Unipest for immediate assistance.

Unipest

(661) BUG-7575

(661) 284-7575

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Claritas only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Pest Control Expert Provides Tips On How To De-Web Thorough And Effectively - KHTS Radio

Global Chemical Pest Control Market Will Witness Unpredictable Growth During The Forecast Period

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Global Chemical Pest Control Market Research Report Covers (COVID-19 Analysis) Industry Research, Drivers, Top Trends, Global Analysis And Forecast...

marketresearchhub has published a research report on the Insect Pest Control market. The report covers comprehensive data on emerging trends, market drivers, growth opportunities, and restraints that can change the market dynamics of the report. It provides an in-depth analysis of the Insect Pest Control market segments which include products, applications, and end-user applications.

This report also includes a complete analysis of industry players that cover their latest developments, product portfolio, pricing, mergers, acquisitions, and collaborations. Moreover, it provides crucial strategies that are helping them to expand their market share. The Global Insect Pest Control Market research report is prepared by implying robust research methodology and including Porters Five Forces analysis to provide the complex matrix of the market.

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Key Highlights of the Report

The Insect Pest Control market report covers the comprehensive analysis from the period of 2020-2026. It also provides the historic data of the market that has impacted positively or negatively to the market growth.

Regulatory policies and investment scenarios of the market are curated in a concise manner.

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A neutral perspective on the Insect Pest Control market.

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Market Segmentation Covered in the report.

Segment by Type, the Insect Pest Control market is segmented intoChemical ControlPhysical ControlBiological ControlOther

Segment by Application, the Insect Pest Control market is segmented intoCommercial & industrialResidentialLivestock farmsOthers

The market research report is classified into the types of products and is analyzed in a detailed manner. Moreover, it includes potential future products that are expected to open new market avenues and can change the dynamics of the market. Each product type is analyzed on the basis of their developments, growth, and threats in the different regions.

This report covers all the applications of the afore-mentioned products and also provides information on the potential applications in the foreseeable future. The dedicated research team has to look into all possible parameters and analyzed the applications that drive the growth of the market.

By Region

North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

Asia Pacific (India, China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, Rest of Asia Pacific)

Europe (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Central & Eastern Europe, Rest of Europe)

Middle East & Africa (GCC, Turkey, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America)

One country of interest can be added with no additional cost on the report. Moreover, if more than one needs to be added, the regional segment quote may vary. In this report, the questions such as which country/region is expected to witness a steep rise in CAGR & year-on-year (Y-o-Y) are also covered.

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The major vendors covered:BASFBayerFMCSyngentaSumitomo ChemicalAdamaRentokil InitialEcolabRollinsTerminixArrow ExterminatorsEnsystex

Note: Additional companies can be profiled in the report.

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Research report covers the Insect Pest Control Market share and Growth, 2020-2025 - TechnoWeekly

Global Inspect Pest Control Market 2020 by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2026 carries out an extensive market analysis covering market aspects like market trends, growth drivers, constraints, and challenges existing in the market. The report aims to define, describe, and forecast the global Inspect Pest Control market in terms of type, application, and region. The report offers an industry-wide competitive analysis, market segments analysis, individual market share of leading players, and the contemporary market scenario. The most vital elements necessary for analyzing this market are included in the report. The key regions (countries) promising a huge market share for the forecast period are covered in the report. The report gives a precise analysis of market size, trends, share, production, and futuristic developments trends, and present and future market status, and forecast, the outlook from 2020 to 2026.

Market Analysis:

The report explores key regions market potential and advantages, opportunities and challenges, restraints, and risks that key players facing in this industry. The report covers the prominent players in the global Inspect Pest Control market with detailed SWOT analysis, financial overview, and key developments. Other information like company profiles, product picture, and specifications, sales revenue, price, gross margin, market share has also been included. The market report is extensively categorized into different product types, applications, player, and regions. The segmentation included in the report is beneficial for readers to capitalize on the selection of appropriate segments for this sector.

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Essential vendors involved in this report are: Bayer, Adama, Rollins, FMC, Ecolab, Arrow Exterminators, BASF, Ensystex, Terminix, Syngenta, Sumitomo Chemical, Rentokil Initial, BizLink, Amphenol, Nexans, Hansen, Kintronic Laboratories, Belden

In terms of geography, the global Inspect Pest Control market includes regions such as North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

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Based on type, the market has been segmented into: Physical Control Methods, Chemical Control Methods, Biological Control Methods, Other Control Methods

Based on application, the market has been segmented into: Livestock Farms, Commercial & Industrial, Residential, Other Applications

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Global Inspect Pest Control Market Research with COVID-19 After Effects - The Think Curiouser

INTRODUCTION

Decades of experiments have revealed that biodiversity of primary producers is crucial for providing and maintaining ecosystem functions and services in planted and natural grasslands (13), which are increasingly critical as humans expand and intensify agriculture to feed our growing population (4, 5). Although biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research has mainly focused on the relationship between primary producer diversity and biomass production, evidence is mounting for the influence of plant diversity on higher trophic levels (6) and multiple associated ecosystem functions and services (2, 710). In light of global findings that terrestrial insect biomass may be in decline (11), it is imperative that mechanisms underlying changes in insect biodiversity and the services they provide are identified. An improved understanding of these mechanisms will enable more accurate forecasting of changes in insect-mediated ecosystem services, such as the natural control of herbivore pests (6, 12).

Earlier studies found that plant diversity increases arthropod biomass with particularly strong effects on predator numbers (10), suggesting that plant diversity may support predator abundance, increasing predation on herbivores and reducing herbivory on plants. Recent analyses of complex food web models have also lent support to these conclusions by showing that increasing animal diversity and biomass yields higher plant primary production (13). Conversely, other experimental studies have found evidence for a stronger positive effect of plant diversity on arthropod herbivores compared with their predators (8, 14), leading to potential increases in herbivory in high-diversity plant communities (15). Reconciling these findingsdisentangling the effects of plant quantity and quality (bottom-up) from those of predators (top-down) that simultaneously act on herbivores and determining the true, generalizable role of plant diversity in constraining herbivore impacts on plant biomass productionrequires a unified measure of total herbivore impacts across manipulative plant diversity experiments.

Recent findings suggest that the positive effects of plant quality and quantity on herbivore energy gains may decline from low- to high-diversity plant communities due to the dilution of high-quality resources with increased nutrient heterogeneity (6). These results are consistent with the resource concentration hypothesis (16), which proposes that trophic efficiency decreases as resource diversity increases (17). However, plant diversity likely constrains herbivore performance by means other than just the dilution of nutrient concentrations, as predation rates have also been shown to increase at high levels of plant diversity (18, 19). This process is described by the enemies hypothesis (16), which proposes that higher plant species diversity will provide greater refuge for predators [e.g., (20)], leading to greater suppression of herbivores via top-down control (19). Given that both bottom-up and top-down forces operate simultaneously, increasing plant diversity likely reduces herbivore impacts on plants through these simultaneous multitrophic controls in food webs. Together, these processes yield four central predictions around the multitrophic control of herbivory in arthropod food webs. With increasing plant diversity, herbivores will experience (i) reduced per capita energetic gains from plants (Fig. 1A) and (ii) enhanced per capita predation rates (Fig. 1A) and will therefore face (iii) increasing net losses due to these simultaneous shifts in resources and predation with increasing plant diversity (Fig. 1A). Because of the predicted positive effect of plant diversity on net herbivore control, we expect (iv) a decline in arthropod herbivory per unit biomass of primary producers at high plant diversity (Fig. 1B).

The simultaneous roles of the resource concentration hypothesis and enemies hypothesis in constraining herbivore impacts are described by (A) isolated bottom-up (Uij) and top-down (Dji) effects on herbivores, respectively, yielding the emergent net herbivore control (log ratio of top-down versus bottom-up effects). This is expected to drive a decline in (B) biomass-specific effects of herbivores on plants.

We determine the role of plant diversity in controlling herbivore impacts on plant communities using a quantitative food web approach (21) to examine multitrophic arthropod data collected across 2 years from analogous grassland biodiversity experiments conducted on two continents, Europe (22) and North America (7). We constructed 487 functional group-level food webs (fig. S1 and table S1) from aboveground arthropod datasets (7, 22) by first grouping all species into functional feedings groups based on taxonomy and life history traits and then assigning trophic links based on known feeding relationships among these groups (see Materials and Methods). We then quantified energy fluxes along trophic links in each food web using a food web energetics approach (21, 23, 24) and quantified total fluxes of energy (i) through each food web, (ii) to herbivores, and (iii) to their arthropod predators, which also included fluxes to omnivores via herbivorous and predatory interactions, respectively. Using these energy fluxes, we quantified the top-down effects of predators and the bottom-up effects of plants on herbivores to estimate the net multitrophic control of herbivory in each food web. Last, to determine the emergent influence of plant diversity on arthropod herbivory, we quantified the top-down impact of arthropod herbivores on plant communities across the experimental plant diversity gradients by calculating herbivore feeding rate per unit biomass of primary producers (see Materials and Methods). This approach provides a unified measure of herbivory that assesses the impacts of herbivores proportional to the biomass production of plant communities of varying diversity.

Increasing plant diversity resulted in higher overall energy flux through arthropod food webs with 95% more resource consumption in 16-species plant communities than in monocultures (P < 0.001; Fig. 2A and table S2). While the effect of increasing plant diversity on energy flux to herbivores was weaker (a 70% increase, P < 0.001; Fig. 2B and table S2), we found a particularly strong effect of plant diversity on total predation, with 162% greater energy flux to predators in 16-species plant communities compared to monocultures (P < 0.001; Fig. 2C and table S2). Our initial results closely match those of recent findings from the Jena Experiment in Germany (25), despite using fundamentally different approaches to quantifying energy fluxes (21). However, unlike the study by Buzhdygan et al. (25), we use energy fluxes to quantify herbivore pest control via multitrophic mechanisms that represent so far unresolved competing hypotheses of plant diversity effects on herbivore control. The observed increases in energy flux in the arthropod food webs of the current study are likely driven, in part, by increased arthropod biomass and abundance with increasing plant diversity (fig. S2), as has been found in previous studies testing for plant diversity effects on arthropods (7, 8). It is, however, important to note that organismal biomass alone does not govern the energetic demands of biological communities; energy fluxes are collectively determined by variation in species composition, body size structure, and food web structure. Nevertheless, organismal biomass has been shown to be a key determinant (24) that is also sensitive to changes in primary producer biomass on which arthropod communities rely. Although the total biomass of herbivores and predators both responded similarly to increasing plant diversity (fig. S2), energy fluxes to predators increased more strongly from monocultures to 16-species plant communities than those to herbivores (Fig. 2, A and B, and table S2). This indicates that biomass is not a simple proxy for energy transfer and that approaches integrating information on metabolism, assimilation efficiency, and trophic interactions (e.g., 21, 23) yield unique insights into energy flux dynamics in multitrophic systems.

Plant diversityenergy flux relationships are shown for total summed energy flux (log-transformed) to all trophic groups in the arthropod food webs (A), to all herbivores (B), and to all predators (C). Trend lines show the partial effects of plant diversity from the linear mixed effects models (see table S2) after accounting for different years [ 95% confidence interval (CI)].

These findings corroborate those of some previous studies from grassland biodiversity experiments (9, 10), suggesting that arthropod predators benefit more strongly from increasing plant diversity than do herbivores. However, other studies have found opposite trends in organismal biomass for herbivores compared with predators across different biodiversity experiments [e.g., (9)]. We observed no marked differences in predator or herbivore biomass responses to plant diversity that could provide clear support for primacy of top-down or bottom-up processes (fig. S2). Despite apparent inconsistencies among previous studies (810) that measured responses in abundance or biomass, our results indicate that food web energetics across the systems analyzed in these previous studies are remarkably similar and demonstrate clearer differences in responses of herbivores versus predators to the experimental plant diversity gradients (Fig. 2). Our analyses reveal consistent shifts in energy fluxes to herbivores and predators between the North American and German biodiversity experiments (Fig. 2 and table S3), suggesting that the effects of plant diversity on the energetic structure and functioning of food webs are general across different contexts.

The underlying mechanisms driving these different herbivore and predator responses (i.e., stronger positive plant diversity effects on predators versus herbivores) are not experimentally tested here. However, our results are consistent with the resource concentration hypothesis, whereby arthropod herbivores have lower chances of encountering preferred plant species in patches with higher plant diversity, thus reducing their likelihood of remaining in high-diversity patches (26, 27). In addition, within plant species, declines in tissue protein (nitrogen) levels have been found in plant communities with high species richness (28, 29), suggesting that host plants may be less nutritious at higher plant diversity. Note that we do not directly incorporate shifts in plant tissue stoichiometry in our calculations of energy flux and bottom-up effects, which would require quantitative knowledge of scaling relationships between stoichiometry and assimilation efficiency. Instead, our results arise from stoichiometric constraints on arthropod community structure, which is consistent with previous findings that resource stoichiometry influences arthropod diversity and biomass (30). At the same time, arthropod predators also benefit significantly from the increased habitat complexity of high-diversity plant communities, which has been suggested to reduce their risk of being detected and eaten by vertebrate predators (18).

In line with our predictions, with increasing plant diversity, we found an 11% decline in bottom-up effects of primary producers on the abundance of arthropod herbivores (P = 0.018; Fig. 3A and table S4) and a 25% increase in top-down effects of predators on herbivores from monocultures to 16-species plant communities, although this was statistically nonsignificant (P = 0.105; Fig. 3A and table S4). Moreover, our third prediction was strongly supported, as we found a significant positive effect of plant diversity on net herbivore control with an average 28% increase in the log ratio of top-down versus bottom-up effects on herbivores across the plant diversity gradients of both biodiversity experiments (P < 0.001; Fig. 3B and table S4). These results provide strong support (which are consistent across both experiments; table S5) for previous suggestions that primary producer diversity could impose constraints on arthropod herbivore biomass (26, 27). However, unlike many previous attempts to quantify plant diversity effects on arthropod herbivores, by implementing a quantitative food web approach (21), our analyses integrate simultaneous mechanisms that control herbivory and thus provide new insight into the true role of plant diversity in controlling herbivores.

We show empirical support for effects of plant diversity on (A) bottom-up pressure (log-transformed Uvh) applied by plants on arthropod herbivores (green symbols) and top-down pressure (log-transformed Dph) applied by predators on arthropod herbivores (blue symbols; P > 0.05) and for (B) the log ratio of top-down versus bottom-up pressure simultaneously imposed on herbivores. As expected, this led to (C) declining top-down pressure (log-transformed Dhv) of herbivores on plants (per unit plant biomass) with increasing plant diversity. Trend lines show the partial effects of plant diversity from the linear mixed effects models (see table S4) after accounting for different years ( 95% CI).

Our analytical approach also reveals that increasing multitrophic control on herbivores at higher plant diversity (via increased predation and reduced plant nutritional value) drives an overall decline in the biomass-specific impacts of herbivores on plant communities (P < 0.001; Fig. 3C and table S4), shedding light on earlier work that demonstrated greater reduction of biomass by arthropods with increasing plant diversity (31). In particular, we found a 44% reduction of herbivore feeding rates (estimated by energy flux from plants to invertebrate consumers), per gram of plant mass, from monoculture to 16-species plant communities. Thus, for every gram of plant biomass produced, plants lose just under half as much energy to arthropod herbivores when planted in high-diversity mixtures compared to when plants are grown in monocultures. Therefore, although overall energy loss to herbivores moderately increases in high-diversity plots (Fig. 2B)which matches findings of previous studies [e.g., (17)]the proportional loss of energy to herbivory is lower because high-diversity plant communities also produce more total biomass per unit area (32).

Our results seemingly contrast with earlier findings of higher loss of plant biomass with increasing plant diversity in the presence (versus absence) of the entire arthropod food web (31). However, quantification of plant community responses to food web interactions varied markedly and is difficult to compare. Seabloom et al. (31) assessed the impacts of the entire arthropod food web (without distinguishing trophic guilds) on total plant biomass, while our analyses specifically quantify the flux of energy, per unit biomass of plants, to arthropod herbivores (including plant-feeding omnivores). These differences point to two general implications of these contrasting results. First, our measure of herbivore impact is likely to detect herbivore effects on plant performance beyond those that manifest in short-term biomass production, such as tissue nutrient content (28). Second, while heavy sustained applications of broad-spectrum insecticides [as in the Seabloom et al. (31) study] may yield larger increases in plant biomass at high plant diversity, our study demonstrates that naturally assembling arthropod food webs control mass-specific effects of herbivores on plants through a complex of trophic interactions, which are also crucial for maintaining ecological stability (33). Decades of research on integrated pest management have shown that pest control that relies heavily on insecticides can lead to detrimental rebounds of herbivore pests, due to destabilizing nontarget effects on natural enemies following pesticide application (34). Nonetheless, the exact mechanisms underlying the differences between these two studies remain hidden and require further experimental, targeted manipulations of predators and herbivores to understand the negative influence of the arthropod food web on the relationship between plant diversity and biomass production (31). Still, together, these results demonstrate that plant biodiversity is a strong driver of primary productivity and may be crucial for limiting herbivore pest outbreaks by simultaneously constraining energetic gains of herbivores and supporting effective communities of natural enemies.

By distinguishing among the different functions provided across trophic levels in grassland food webs, our study reveals how increasing plant diversity strengthens the multitrophic controls that can yield net benefits for plants. We show that simultaneous changes in energy gained from resources and predation pressure received by arthropod predators suppress herbivores and their impacts on plant communities. This brings to light the importance of biotic interactions for maintaining ecosystem services and points to the need for further research into the role of food web structure for controlling the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Our study reconciles long-standing competing hypotheses about the ability of plant diversity to reduce herbivore impacts, by demonstrating that both natural enemies and resource concentration act in concert to constrain the negative effects of herbivores on plant performance. Hence, conserving plant diversity could be vital for maintaining natural control of herbivores and thereby help to minimize inputs of agrochemicals and maximize plant performance.

We used aboveground arthropod community data from two plant diversity experiments located on two different continents, namely, the Jena Experiment in Central Europe and the Cedar Creek Biodiversity Experiment in North America. The Jena Experiment, established in 2002 in the floodplain of the Saale River (Thuringia, Germany, 5055N, 1135E; 130 m above sea level), is an experimentally maintained plant diversity gradient using 60 plant species native to Central European mesophilic grasslands. Plant communities were sown in 400-m2 plots with species richness levels of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16, replicated across four spatial blocks (35). The diversity levels of 1 to 8 plant species were replicated 16 times, and the 16-species treatment was replicated 14 times, making a total of 78 replicate plots. In 2009, the plot size was reduced to 100 m2 and the monocultures of Bellis perennis (L., 1753) and Cynosurus cristatus (L., 1753) were excluded due to poor cover of the target species, leaving a total of 76 plots considered in the present study. Twice per year, the plots are mown to mimic traditional management practices and also weeded to maintain the experimental species richness levels (35). A detailed description of species selection for each plot and for the management of the Jena Experiment can be found in (35).

Similarly, the Cedar Creek Biodiversity Experiment was established in 1994 at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve near East Bethel (Minnesota, USA) to create an experimental plant diversity gradient. Here, plots of 169 m2 (reduced to 81 m2 in 2000) were also sown with plant species richness levels of 1 (n = 39), 2 (n = 35), 4 (n = 29), 8 (n = 30), and 16 (n = 35), for which species were randomly drawn from a total species pool of 18 plant species. As in the Jena Experiment, experimental plant diversity levels were maintained by weeding plots two to four times during the growing season but were burned once per year in spring to mimic natural disturbance regimes typical of the region (1).

To account for colonization time of arthropod communities since the establishment of both experiments, we used arthropod data collected after 8 and 10 years from the initial experimental planting (i.e., years 2010 and 2012 from the Jena Experiment and years 2002 and 2004 from Cedar Creek). At the Jena Experiment, aboveground vegetation-dwelling arthropods were collected via suction sampling in June and July between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., within two sampling periods of 4 days for the entire experiment. Two subplots of 0.75 m 0.75 m were randomly placed within each plot, covered with a fine mesh cage, and exhaustively sampled using a modified commercial vacuum cleaner (Krcher A2500, Krcher GmbH, Winnenden, Germany) until no further arthropods were sighted. Arthropod samples were pooled from the two sampling times (June and July) to maximize coverage of species assemblages. At the Cedar Creek Biodiversity Experiment, vegetation-dwelling arthropods were collected via sweep net sampling at peak plant biomass (in August) over a single day. A total of 25 sweeps were conducted on each plot using a 38-cm-diameter net consisting of muslin mesh and by walking a 10-m line transect within 2 to 3 m of the plots edge. The use of different collection methods at each experimental site potentially had an effect on sampled species and their abundances. Specifically, sweep net samples may exclude many ground-dwelling arthropods that suction sampling would be more likely to capture. In contrast, some highly mobile groups such as Orthoptera were undersampled with suction sampling at the Jena Experiment, so they were not included in the Jena Experiment food webs (table S1). Nevertheless, past research has found that these two methods do generally provide comparable data of arthropod species across trophic levels and even appear to capture similar responses of arthropods to variation in plant diversity (36). Although these different sampling methods could presumably lead to inconsistent results in our analyses, we found no significant differences between the experimental sites in any arthropod food web variables.

All specimens from both experiments (with the exception of Diptera and Lepidoptera from the Jena Experiment, due to lack of taxonomic expertise) were identified to at least family level, or to genus and species level where possible, and abundances of species at each plot were recorded. For taxa from the Jena Experiment, body lengths were obtained from (37), and for Cedar Creek, average species body lengths were measured for approximately 70% (313 of 450) of the taxa (7). For all remaining taxa, average body lengths were retrieved from the literature. Body length was converted to fresh body mass (in milligrams) using taxon-specific length-mass regressions of temperate arthropods (38). In addition, the average assimilation efficiency, e (that is, the proportion of energy assimilated into arthropod biomass from total consumed energy), was assigned for each trophic interaction based on resources consumed (39). This was set to 0.158 for arthropods consuming detritus, 0.545 for arthropods consuming live plant material, and 0.906 for arthropods consuming other live arthropods (39). These values are based on well-known difference among trophic levels in their ability to extract energy from ingested material, whereby herbivores and detritivores are faced with resources of a lower digestibility than predators. Specifically, the assimilation efficiencies used in our study are taken from model estimates for each trophic level that were quantified using the most comprehensive meta-analysis on assimilation efficiencies to date (39).

Mean metabolic rates were calculated for each taxon for each of the two sampling years using published metabolic rate regressions for arthropod taxa (24, 40). Estimation of arthropod metabolic rates was made using regressions from fresh body mass, temperature (mean summer temperature of each experimental site from both sampling years), and phylogeny using the formulalnX=lnxo+a(lnMEkT)where X is the metabolic rate, a is the allometric exponent, M is the fresh body mass, E is the activation energy, k is the Boltzmanns constant, T is the temperature, and xo is a normalization factor (40). Taxon-specific values were used for xo, a, and E to calculate metabolic rates for Arachnida, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera, and parameters from a general insect metabolic rate regression were used for the remaining taxa. Metabolic rates were calculated as joules hour1 and then converted to joules month1 by multiplying by the average number of hours per month from when samples were collected.

All taxa were assigned to a functional feeding group (FFG) by first separating into taxonomic orders and then further identifying taxa within orders as either carnivores, herbivores, detritivores, or omnivores. Omnivores were further classified as carnivore-herbivores, carnivore-detritivores, herbivore-detritivores, or generalist omnivores (that consume other arthropods, plants, and detritus). We used this combined approach of taxonomic and functional distinctions because feeding associations have been shown to be highly phylogenetically conserved, particularly in our study system (41). Therefore, taxonomic groupings provide additional information on likely feeding behavior beyond general feeding traits alone. Furthermore, taxonomic groupings also provide information about the likely vulnerability of arthropods to predators, by indicating traits such as sclerotization or movement behavior. An adjacency matrix of possible trophic links among all FFGs (16 for the Jena Experiment and 23 for Cedar Creek) was created for each experimental site, yielding a so-called meta-web for the Jena Experiment and for Cedar Creek (fig. S1). Trophic links were assigned on the basis of all likely feeding interactions among FFGs, which were derived from a number of steps that combined expert knowledge and extensive literature searches. Specifically, general trophic links were first assigned at the functional group level based on expert knowledge. Then, we screened taxa that occurred within each functional group to ensure that feeding links were still meaningful for each given taxa. For example, predatory beetles (Coleoptera) were first assigned a feeding link with booklice (Psocoptera) based on co-occurrence and likely ability of beetles to overcome these prey. This link was then validated by finding literature support for some predatory beetles present in our food webs (e.g., Coccinellidae) that feed on booklice. These feeding links were additionally cross-referenced with matching taxonomic groups from recent species-level food webs constructed from the Jena Experiment, using feeding interactions reported in the literature, trophic levels, and a range of trait-based rules (22). For each plot and year in both experiments, we extracted local food webs (i.e., subsets of the meta-webs) based on the presence of FFGs at a given plot and year, yielding a total of 152 food webs from the Jena Experiment and 335 food webs from Cedar Creek.

Energy fluxes (as joules per month) among all nodes in the local food webs were calculated, where links were assigned using the food web energetics approach (21, 23, 24). Although energy flux is expressed in flow of energy (joules) per unit time, energy flux directly relates to material ingested by consumers in food webs as it describes the chemical energy that is taken up by heterotrophs and both converted to biomass and processed and lost as kinetic energy through metabolism (42). Furthermore, the material ingested by heterotrophs is composed of a suite of chemical elements (e.g., C, P, and N) that comprise organic compounds, which harbor chemical energy that is released and transformed through the process of metabolism (42). Therefore, energy fluxes are also closely correlated with elemental fluxes in food webs (21). To quantify energy fluxes in food webs across both grassland experiments, we assumed a steady-state system, whereby all energetic losses of nodes in the food webs (estimated by metabolism and predation by higher trophic levels) must be exactly balanced by energy intake, via consumption of resources, after accounting for efficiency of energy assimilation from ingested material. Fij, the flux of energy from resource i to consumer j, was thus calculated asieijFij=Xj+kWjkFkwhere eij is the efficiency that consumer j converts energy consumed from resource i into energy used for metabolism and biomass production, which varies with trophic level (39). Thus, the left side of the equation represents the energetic gains of consumer j via consumption of resources, and the right side of the equation defines energetic losses resulting from metabolism Xj (the sum of individual metabolic rates from arthropods in node j) and from predation on consumer j by higher trophic levels (21, 23). Energy flux to each consumer was defined as Fij = WijFj, where Fj is the sum of ingoing fluxes to species j and Wij is the proportion of Fj that is obtained from species i, which was obtained by scaling consumer preferences wij to the biomasses of different available prey usingWij=wijBikwkjBkwhere Bi is the biomass of resource i. To ensure realistic calculations of the proportions of energy flux from multiple resources to omnivores that feed either on both plants and arthropods or on detritus and arthropods, we set equal preferences among arthropod prey, plants, and detritus but maintained biomass-dependent preferences among arthropod prey. This was done to avoid extreme preferences of omnivores toward plants and detritus, which typically have far higher biomass than arthropod prey but are likely to be less preferred by omnivorous consumers due to lower nutritional value (43).

However, we suspected that variation in the assignment of feeding preferences of omnivores for plants versus arthropods could affect calculations of predatory and herbivorous energy fluxes, which could lead to different overall conclusions for the effects of plant diversity on herbivore control depending on preferences set in the food webs. To assess whether this was the case here, we conducted a sensitivity analysis whereby we incrementally altered the proportional omnivore preferences for plants versus arthropods from 0.2 to 0.9 (in increments of 0.1) and reanalyzed each model used to produce (Fig. 3, D and E). Our sensitivity analysis revealed that our results are highly robust to changes in feeding preferences of omnivores, as we found no discernible changes in the outcome of all but one of our models testing the effects of plant diversity on net herbivore control and on herbivore effects on plants (fig. S3 and table S6). Only in one scenario, testing the effect of plant diversity on herbivore control with omnivore preferences set to the most extreme preference for plants (90% preference for plants versus arthropods), we find only a marginally significant relationship (P = 0.058; fig. S3 and table S6). Therefore, we chose to assign a standardized equal preference for plants and arthropods (50% preference for each resource pool). In addition, cannibalistic links were allowed for several predator groups, but preference for cannibalism was set to 0.1 in the adjacency matrix to strongly down-weight the amount of energy a predator consumed from its own biomass pool. This was because biomass-dependent links yielded unrealistically high feeding preferences for cannibalism when the cannibalistic node was among the most abundant in a given food web. Energy flux calculations were performed using the fluxweb package (23) in R 3.4.2 (44).

To quantify whole-food web energy flux, we calculated the sum of energy flux along all trophic links within each entire food web, regardless of where in the food web the energy was flowing. Total herbivory was calculated as the sum of all outgoing energy flux from plants to account for the consumption of plant material by both strict herbivores and omnivores that partition their feeding between plant and other material (e.g., detritus and/or arthropod prey). Last, total predation was calculated as the sum of all outgoing energy flux from arthropod nodes to include predation by omnivores that feed on both arthropod prey and other energy sources (e.g., detritus and/or plants).

To assess herbivory, we quantified the total consumption of plant energy by herbivores, per unit biomass of plants using Dhv=FvhBv, where Fvh is the energy flux from plants to herbivores and Bv is the community biomass of plants in the food web (Fig. 4), yielding mass-specific energetic losses of plants to herbivores as joules month1 g1 of plant biomass. To further determine the forces regulating the herbivore effects on plant communities in the two diversity experiments, we additionally quantified both positive effects of plants on herbivores and negative effects of predators on herbivores in each food web across the experimental plant diversity gradients.

Fij is the total flux from resource to consumer, B is the community biomass of resource or consumer, and eij is the efficiency with which energy from a resource is assimilated (for allocation to, e.g., biomass production, movement, etc.).

Effects of predators on herbivores were calculated as Dph=FhpBh, where Fhp is the total energy flux from herbivores to their predators and Bh is the community biomass of herbivores in a given food web, yielding mass-specific energetic losses of herbivores to predators as joules month1 g1 of herbivore biomass. Effects of plants on herbivores were calculated as Uvh=evhFvhBh, where evh is the efficiency at which herbivores convert consumed plant material into herbivore biomass, Fvh is the total energy flux from plants to herbivores, and Bh is the community biomass of herbivores in the food web (Fig. 4), yielding mass-specific energetic gains of herbivores from plants as joules month1 g1 of herbivore biomass. Furthermore, we estimated the simultaneous top-down and bottom-up forces on herbivores at each grassland plot by calculating the log ratio, log(Dph/Uvh), to describe the negative top-down forces imposed by predators on herbivores relative to the positive bottom-up forces imposed by plants. Hence, a log ratio of 0 would indicate that top-down (per unit biomass energy loss) and bottom-up (per unit biomass energy gain) forces were equal at the community level with positive and negative values, indicating a net energetic loss or gain, respectively, per unit biomass of herbivores.

To analyze the effects of plant species richness on energy flux along all trophic links (whole-food web energy flux), energy flux to all herbivores, and energy flux to all predators in the 487 grassland food webs, we constructed linear mixed effects models using the nlme R package (45), with plant species richness as a fixed effect and experimental year as a random effect. In addition, our maximal models included experiment (whether data were from the Jena Experiment or the Cedar Creek Biodiversity Experiment) as a fixed effect and its interaction with plant species richness to account for variation in response variables arising from different experimental locations and collection methods as well as to test for consistency of findings across both grassland experiments. All models were checked for homoscedasticity of variance and normality of model residuals, following which each response variable (whole-community flux, flux to herbivores, and flux to predators) was log-transformed to meet the assumptions of normality and remove heteroscedasticity of variance. We finally conducted model simplification using Akaike information criterion (AIC) selection to identify a minimal adequate model for each response variable. We applied a minimum threshold of two AIC units to determine the best model, but where multiple models fell within this threshold, we selected the model with the fewest parameters as the minimum adequate model.

Similar to the models on summed energy fluxes, we constructed four linear mixed effects models [using the nlme package (45)] to test for a relationship between plant species richness and the bottom-up and top-down control of herbivore biomass (Uvh and Dph, respectively) as well as on net herbivore control, log(Dph/Uvh), and herbivore effects on plants (Dhv). Again, plant diversity, experiment, and their interaction were specified as fixed effects and experimental year as a random effect. As we identified issues with heteroscedasticity of variance in all of these four models, we first log-transformed each response variable (excluding the log ratio Dph/Uvh response). This sufficiently improved only one of the models (with top-down effects on herbivores as the response), with considerable issues in heteroscedasticity still remaining in the other three models. Therefore, we included a varIdent variance function (46) in each remaining model, allowing for different variances for each experimental year and value of plant species richness across the two experiments. Model simplification was again carried out (as above) to identify a minimum adequate model in each case.

Acknowledgments: We are grateful to the technical staff of the Jena Experiment for maintaining the experimental field site and to the many student assistants for weeding the experimental plots. Funding: This study was funded by the German Research Foundation (FOR 1451). The Cedar Creek Biodiversity Experiment was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research Program (LTER), including DEB-0620652 and DEB-1234162, and by the University of Minnesota. A.D.B., U.B., B.G., D.P.G., J.H., C.R., and N.E. also acknowledge support from the German Research Foundation (FZT 118). Author contributions: N.E., C.S., U.B., and A.D.B. conceived the project; E.T.B., A.E., D.T., and W.W.W. contributed data; A.D.B., E.T.B., A.E., J.H., and C.R. compiled the data; A.D.B. and B.G. analyzed the data; A.D.B. wrote the manuscript; and all authors discussed the results and contributed to the manuscript text. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Data and materials availability: Custom R scripts used to generate and analyze the data (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12909962.v1), along with the underlying datasets generated and analyzed for this manuscript (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12655295.v1), can be found in the Figshare repository.

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Biodiversity enhances the multitrophic control of arthropod herbivory - Science Advances