Insect Ecology: Behavior, Populations and Communities
Cambridge University Press, 8/18/2011
EAN 9780521834889, ISBN10: 0521834880
Hardcover, 828 pages, 24.6 x 18.9 x 4.3 cm
Language: English
Combining breadth of coverage with detail, this logical and cohesive introduction to insect ecology couples concepts with a broad range of examples and practical applications. It explores cutting-edge topics in the field, drawing on and highlighting the links between theory and the latest empirical studies. The sections are structured around a series of key topics, including behavioral ecology; species interactions; population ecology; food webs, communities and ecosystems; and broad patterns in nature. Chapters progress logically from the small scale to the large; from individual species through to species interactions, populations and communities. Application sections at the end of each chapter outline the practicality of ecological concepts and show how ecological information and concepts can be useful in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Each chapter ends with a summary, providing a brief recap, followed by a set of questions and discussion topics designed to encourage independent and creative thinking.
Preface
Part I. Introduction
1. The scope of insect ecology
Part II. Behavioral Ecology
2. Behavior, mating systems, and sexual selection
3. Social insects
the evolution and ecological consequences of sociality
Part III. Species Interactions
4. Plant and herbivore interactions
5. Lateral interactions
competition, amensalism, and facilitation
6. Mutualisms
7. Prey and predator interactions
8. Host and parasite interactions
Part IV. Population Ecology
9. Demography, population growth and life tables
10. Life histories
11. Population dynamics
Part V. Food Webs and Communities
12. Community structure
13. Multi-trophic interactions
Part VI. Broad Patterns in Nature
14. Biological diversity
15. Planet Earth
patterns and processes
Glossary
References
Taxonomic index
Author index
Subject index.