Summary
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1.
In the dune system under observation, Ragwort is distributed in small local populations that have only a restricted lifetime; (temporary) extinction has been observed frequently.
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2.
Cinnabar Moth attack on these populations is of even shorter duration. Colonization and extinction of the Cinnabar Moth is related to the amount of food present.
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3.
The presence of the predator Formica polyctena negatively influences the probability of local oviposition.
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4.
There is a continual shift of the Cinnabar Moth over its food-plant populations. When populations in a favorable food situation in Formica-free habitats became scarce, there was a shift towards populations in Formica habitats.
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5.
Negative effects of attack on the food-plant populations could be demonstrated, but they were small compared to fluctuations in these populations caused by other factors.
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6.
After dispersal each year new plant populations providing a favorable food situation are colonized. The heterogeneity of the populations in time and space is the factor that ensures survival of the insect in the system of plant populations.
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Publication of the ‘Meijendel-comité’, new series no. 46
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van der Meijden, E. Herbivore exploitation of a fugitive plant species: Local survival and extinction of the Cinnabar Moth and Ragwort in a heterogeneous environment. Oecologia 42, 307–323 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346596
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346596