Brasília: Natural predators like birds, beetles and bugs might be an effective alternative to pesticides, keeping crop-devouring pests populations down while boosting crop yields, researchers said today. Pests are responsible for around 10 percent-or 21 million metric tons-of crop losses every year, but controlling them has led to the widespread use of chemical pesticides. Researchers in Brazil, the United States and the Czech Republic analyzed past research on predator pest control and found that they helped reduce pest populations by more than 70 percent, while increasing crop yields by 25 percent. Although the researchers did not directly compare the effectiveness of invertebrates versus pesticides, he said, the damage that pesticides cause to ecosystems and biological control was well documented, from biodiversity loss and water and soil pollution to human health risks. The researchers found that predators were more effective at pest control in regions with greater rain variability-which is expected t o increase because of climate change. The researchers were also surprised to find that having a single species of natural predator was as effective as having multiple species. Meanwhile, other studies have shown that invertebrates vital for ecosystem health are suffering a rapid decline globally. Source: Oman News Agency