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Science 26 November 1993:
Vol. 262. no. 5138, pp. 1429 - 1432
DOI: 10.1126/science.262.5138.1429
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Articles

Refuge Theory and Biological Control

Bradford A. Hawkins 1, Matthew B. Thomas 2, and Michael E. Hochberg 3

1 Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
2 Leverhulme Unit for Population Biology and Biological Control, Imperial College, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
3 Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS-URA 258, Laboratoire d'Ecologie, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France

An important question in ecology is the extent to which populations and communities are governed by general rules. Recent developments in population dynamics theory have shown that hosts' refuges from their insect parasitoids predict parasitoid community richness patterns. Here, the refuge theory is extended to biological control, in which parasitoids are imported for the control of insect pests. Theory predicts, and data confirm, that the success of biological control is inversely related to the proportion of insects protected from parasitoid attack. Refuges therefore provide a general mechanism for interpreting ecological patterns at both the community level (their species diversity) and population level (their dynamics).

Submitted on May 26, 1993
Accepted on September 15, 1993


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Infiltration of a Hawaiian Community by Introduced Biological Control Agents.
M. L. Henneman and J. Memmott (2001)
Science 293, 1314-1316
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Maximum Parasitism Rates and Successful Biological Control.
B. A. Hawkins and H. V. Cornell (1994)
Science 266, 1886
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Response.
B. A. Hawkins, M. E. Hochberg, and M. B. Thomas (1994)
Science 265, 812-813
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Habitat Fragmentation, Species Loss, and Biological Control.
A. Kruess and T. Tscharntke (1994)
Science 264, 1581-1584
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)