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Insect Ecology,

Edition 2 An Ecosystem Approach

By Timothy D. Schowalter

Publication Date: 27 Feb 2006

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Dr. Timothy Schowalter has succeeded in creating a unique, updated treatment of insect ecology. This revised and expanded text looks at how insects adapt to environmental conditions while maintaining the ability to substantially alter their environment. It covers a range of topics- from individual insects that respond to local changes in the environment and affect resource distribution, to entire insect communities that have the capacity to modify ecosystem conditions.

Insect Ecology, Second Edition, synthesizes the latest research in the field and has been produced in full color throughout. It is ideal for students in both entomology and ecology-focused programs.

Key Features

NEW TO THIS EDITION:* New topics such as elemental defense by plants, chaotic models, molecular methods to measure disperson, food web relationships, and more* Expanded sections on plant defenses, insect learning, evolutionary tradeoffs, conservation biology and more* Includes more than 350 new references* More than 40 new full-color figures

About the author

By Timothy D. Schowalter, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, U.S.A.

Chapter 1. Overview
I. Scope of Insect Ecology
II. Ecosystem Ecology
A. Ecosystem Complexity
B. The Hierarchy of Subsystems
C. Regulation
III. Environmental Change and Disturbance
IV. Ecosystem Approach to Insect Ecology
V. Scope of This Book

SECTION I: Ecology of Individual Insects

Chapter 2. Responses to Abiotic Conditions
I. The Physical Template
A. Biomes
B. Environmental Variation
C. Disturbances
II. Surviving Variable Abiotic Conditions
A. Thermoregulation
B. Water Balance
C. Air and Water Chemistry
D. Other Abiotic Factors
III. Factors Affecting Dispersal Behavior

A. Life History Strategy
B. Crowding
C. Nutritional Status
D. Habitat and Resource Conditions
E. Mechanism of Dispersal
IV. Responses to Anthropogenic Changes
V. Summary

Chapter 3. Resource Acquisition
I. Resource Quality
A. Resource Requirements
B. Variation in Food Quality
C. Plant Chemical Defenses
D. Arthropod Defenses
E. Factors Affecting Expression of Defenses
F. Mechanisms for Exploiting Variable Resources
II. Resource Acceptability
III. Resource Availability
A. Foraging Strategies
B. Orientation
C. Learning
IV. Summary

Chapter 4. Resource Allocation
I. Resource Budget
II. Allocation of Assimilated Resources
A. Resource Acquisition
B. Mating Activity
C. Reproductive and Social Behavior
D. Competitive, Defensive and Mutualistic Behavior
III. Efficiency of Resource Use
A. Factors Affecting Efficiency
B. Tradeoffs
IV. Summary

SECTION II: Population Ecology

Chapter 5. Population Systems
I. Population Structure
A. Density
B. Dispersion
C. Metapopulation Structure
D. Age Structure
E. Sex Ratio
F. Genetic Composition
II. Population Processes
A. Natality
B. Mortality

C. Dispersal
III. Life History Characteristics
IV. Parameter Estimation
V. Summary

Chapter 6. Population Dynamics
I. Population Fluctuation
II. Factors Affecting Population Size
A. Density Independent Factors
B. Density Dependent Factors
C. Regulatory Mechanisms
III. Models of Population Change
A. Exponential and Geometric Models
B. Logistic Model
C. Complex Models
D. Computerized Models
E. Model Evaluation
IV. Summary

Chapter 7. Biogeography
I. Geographic Distribution
A. Global Patterns
B. Regional Patterns
C. Island Biogeography

D. Landscape and Stream Continuum Patterns
II. Spatial Dynamics of Populations
A. Expanding Populations
B. Metapopulation Dynamics
III. Anthropogenic Effects on Spatial Dynamics
A. Fragmentation
B. Disturbances to Aquatic Ecosystems
C. Species Introductions
IV. Conservation Biology
V. Models
VI. Summary

SECTION III: Community Ecology

Chapter 8. Species Interactions
I. Classes of Interactions
A. Competition
B. Predation
C. Symbiosis
II. Factors Affecting Interactions
A. Abiotic Conditions
B. Resource Availability and Distribution
C. Indirect Effects of Other Species
III. Consequences of Interactions

A. Population Regulation
B. Community Regulation
IV. Summary

Chapter 9. Community Structure
I. Approaches to Describing Communities
A. Species Diversity
B. Species Interactions
C. Functional Organization
II. Patterns of Community Structure
A. Global Patterns
B. Biome and Landscape Patterns
III. Determinants of Community Structure
A. Habitat Area and Complexity
B. Habitat Stability
C. Resource Availability
D. Species Interactions
IV. Summary

Chapter 10. Community Dynamics
I. Short-term Change in Community Structure
II. Successional Change in Community Structure
A. Patterns of Succession
B. Factors Affecting Succession

C. Models of Succession
III. Paleoecology
IV. Diversity vs. Stability
A. Components of Stability
B. Stability of Community Variables
V. Summary

SECTION IV: Ecosystem Level

Chapter 11. Ecosystem Structure and Function
I. Ecosystem Structure
A. Trophic Structure
B. Spatial Variability
II. Energy Flow
A. Primary Productivity
B. Secondary Productivity
C. Energy Budets
III. Biogeochemical Cycling
A. Abiotic and Biotic Pools
B. Major Cycles
C. Factors Influencing Cycling Processes
IV. Climate Modification
V. Modeling
VI. Summary

Chapter 12. Herbivory
I. Types and Patterns of Herbivory
A. Herbivory Functional Groups
B. Measurement of Herbivory
C. Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Herbivory
II. Effects of Herbivory
A. Plant Productivity, Survival and Growth Form
B. Community Dynamics
C. Water and Nutrient Fluxes
D. Effects on Climate and Disturbance Regime
III. Summary

Chapter 13. Pollination, Seed Predation and Seed Dispersal
I. Mechanisms and Patterns of Pollination
A. Mechanisms of Pollination
B. Pollination Efficiency
C. Patterns of Insect Pollination Among Ecosystems
II. Effects of Pollination
III. Mechanisms and Patterns of Seed Predation and Dispersal
A. Mechanisms of Seed Predation and Dispersal
B. Efficiency of Seed Production and Dispersal
C. Patterns of Seed Mortality and Dispersal Among Ecosystems
IV. Effects of Seed Predation and Dispersal

V. Summary

Chapter 14. Decomposition and Pedogenesis
I. Types and Patterns of Detritivory and Burrowing
A. Detritivore and Burrower Functional Groups
B. Measurement of Detritivory, Burrowing and Decomposition Rates
C. Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Processing of Organic Matter
II. Effects of Detritivory and Burrowing
A. Decomposition and Mineralization
B. Soil Structure and Infiltration
C. Primary Production and Vegetation Dynamics
III. Summary

Chapter 15. Insects as Regulators of Ecosystem Processes
I. Development of the Concept
II. Ecosystems as Cybernetic Systems
A. Properties of Cybernetic Systems
B. Ecosystem Homeostasis
C. Definition of Stability
D. Regulation of NPP by Biodiversity
E. Regulation of NPP by Insects
IV. Summary

SECTION V: Synthesis

Chapter 16. Synthesis
I. Summary
II. Synthesis
III. Applications
A. Management of Crop, Forest, and Urban “Pests¿
B. Conservation/restoration Ecology
C. Indicators of Environmental Conditions
IV. Critical Issues
V. Conclusions

Bibliography
I. Summary
II. Synthesis
III. Applications
A. Management of Crop, Forest, and Urban “Pests¿
B. Conservation/restoration Ecology
C. Indicators of Environmental Conditions
IV. Critical Issues
V. Conclusions
Bibliography

ISBN: 9780120887729

Page Count: 576

Retail Price : £60.99

Speight, et al: ECOLOGY OF INSECTS: Concepts and Applications, Blackwell Science (1999, Paperback, 360 pp, ISBN 0865427453, $76.95 / £29.99) Price: INSECT ECOLOGY, 3E, Wiley (1997, Hardcover, 888 pp, ISBN 0471161845, $175.00 / £100.00)

Natural resource managers and environmental policy-makers, as well as students and instructors of insect ecology.

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