Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
Introduction
Conservation biology has been described as a “mission oriented discipline” (Soule and Wilcox, 1980), while Samways (1994) goes further, describing it as a “crisis science”, in recognition of the immediate and adverse impacts facing our biosphere. Similarly, the development of integrated pest management (IPM) over the past 50 years has been driven by “real world” pressures, in this case, the failure of unilateral pesticidal management to provide effective control of pests. A further similarity between the disciplines of conservation biology – the science of preserving biodiversity (Pullin, 2002) – and IPM is that both are ecological disciplines. Despite this common ground, however, the two broad disciplines have developed in relative isolation from each other. One reflection of this is that conservation biologists have tended to use ecological theory to a considerably greater extent than have those involved in IPM. Indeed, the growth of the discipline of conservation biology and the conceptual framework that has developed around it is one of the most prominent advances in ecology in recent years (Caughley, 1994; Dobson et al., 1997). Recognizing the theoretical maturity of conservation biology (at least compared with IPM), one aim of this chapter is to explore the “common ground” of these disciplines, with the intention of identifying research directions that may further the discipline of IPM. Associated with this objective, we aim to avoid the reductionist tendency of scientific exploration and consider the extent to which the objectives of IPM and conservation biology may be compatible in agricultural landscapes.
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