Insect Population Ecology


Book Description

Expressing propulation changes; density dependent processes affecting cultures of single species; composititions between species for a limited resouce; parasites and predatrs; climate and weather; life tables and their use in population chages of some forest insects; biological control.




Insect Ecology


Book Description

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.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




Insect Ecology


Book Description

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.




Ecological Methods


Book Description

The virtual impossibility of extracting the many different species from a habitat with equal efficiency by a single method (e.g. Nef, 1960). 1.1 Population estimates Population estimates can be classified into a number of different types; the most convenient classification is that adopted by Morris (1955), although he used the terms somewhat differently in a later paper (1960). 1.1.1 Absolute and related estimates The animal numbers may be expressed as a density per unit area of the ground of the habitat. Such estimates are given by nearest neighbour and related techniques (Chapter 2), marking and recapture (Chapter 3), by sampling a known fraction of the habitat (Chapter 4-6) and by removal sampling and random walk techniques (Chapter 7). Absolute population The number of animals per unit area (e.g. hectare, acre). It is almost impossible to construct a budget or to study mortality factors without the conversion of population estimates to absolute figures, for not only do insects often move from the plant to the soil at different developmental stages, but the amount of plant material is itself always changing. The importance of obtaining absolute estimates cannot be overemphasized.




Ecology of Insects


Book Description

Fully revised and updated to include new topical study areas, the second edition of the successful text the Ecology of Insects provides a balanced treatment of the theory and practice of pure and applied insect ecology. Includes new topical areas of insect ecology and provides greater coverage of physiological, genetic, molecular, and ecosystem aspects of insect ecology Concepts include the foundations of evolutionary ecology and population dynamics in ecosystem science as they are applied to topics such as climate change, conservation and biodiversity, epidemiology and pest management Fully updated and revised throughout, this new edition refers to primary literature and real world examples. To access the artwork from the book, please visit: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/speightinsects.




Population Biology of Tropical Insects


Book Description

In this book I have tried to bring together the major developments in the study of insect populations in tropical environments. In some ways, this task has been a difficult one because conceptually it is virtually impossible to limit a discussion of insect ecology to the tropics, since the same concepts, theories, and hypoth eses concerning the mechanisms by which habitats support insect populations often apply both to temperate and to tropical regions. Thus one might argue effectively that a book such as Peter Price's Insect Ecology represents a more comprehensive treatment of insect ecology, including the tropical aspects. Yet because there has been a tremendous amount of new study on insects in the tropics in recent years, and because there has also been a strong historical interest in tropical insects, judging from early museum expeditions and medically and agriculturally oriented studies of insects in the New and Old World tropics, I believe there is a place for a book dealing almost exclusively with tropical insects. But logically so, such a book by necessity incorporates data and informa tion from Temperate Zone studies, if for no other reason than because insights into the properties of tropical environments often emerge from compariso'ns of species, communities, or faunas between temperate and tropical regions. An understanding of insect populations in the tropics cannot be divorced from a consideration of Temperate Zone populations.




Forest Insects


Book Description

This book is intended as a general text for undergraduates studying the manage ment of forest insect pests. It is divided into four parts: insects, ecology, manage ment, and practice. Part I, Insects, contains two chapters. The first is intended to provide an overview of the general attributes of insects. Recognizing that it is impossible to adequately treat such a diverse and complex group of organisms in such a short space, I have attempted to highlight those insectan characteristics that make them difficult animals to combat. I have also tried to expose the insects' weak points, those attributes that make them vulnerable to manipulation by human actions. Even so, this first chapter will seem inadequate and sketchy to many of my colleagues. Ideally, this book should be used in conjunction with a laboratory manual covering insect anatomy, physiology, biology, behavior, and classifica tion in much greater depth-in fact, this is how I organize my forest entomology course. It is hoped that this first chapter will provide nonentomologists with a general feel for the insects and with a broad understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, while Chapter 2 will provide a brief overview of the diverse insect fauna that attacks the various parts of forest trees and their products.




Integrated Population Models


Book Description

Integrated Population Models: Theory and Ecological Applications with R and JAGS is the first book on integrated population models, which constitute a powerful framework for combining multiple data sets from the population and the individual levels to estimate demographic parameters, and population size and trends. These models identify drivers of population dynamics and forecast the composition and trajectory of a population. Written by two population ecologists with expertise on integrated population modeling, this book provides a comprehensive synthesis of the relevant theory of integrated population models with an extensive overview of practical applications, using Bayesian methods by means of case studies. The book contains fully-documented, complete code for fitting all models in the free software, R and JAGS. It also includes all required code for pre- and post-model-fitting analysis. Integrated Population Models is an invaluable reference for researchers and practitioners involved in population analysis, and for graduate-level students in ecology, conservation biology, wildlife management, and related fields. The text is ideal for self-study and advanced graduate-level courses. - Offers practical and accessible ecological applications of IPMs (integrated population models) - Provides full documentation of analyzed code in the Bayesian framework - Written and structured for an easy approach to the subject, especially for non-statisticians




Insect Pests of Millets


Book Description

Insect Pests of Millets: Systematics, Bionomics, and Management focuses on protecting the cultivated cereals that many worldwide populations depend on for food across the semi-arid tropics of the world. Providing coverage of all the major cultivated millets, including sorghum, pearlmillet, finger millet, barnyard millet, prosomillet, little millet, kodomillet, and foxtail millet, this comprehensive book on insect pests is the first of its kind that explores systematics, bionomics, distribution, damage, host range, biology, monitoring techniques, and management options, all accompanied by useful illustrations and color plates. By exploring the novel aspects of Insect-plant relationships, including host signaling orientation, host specialization, pest – host evolutionary relationship, and biogeography of insects and host plants, the book presents the latest ecologically sound and innovative techniques in insect pest management from a general overview of pest management to new biotechnological interventions. - Includes the most comprehensive and relevant aspects of insect systematics, including synonyms, nomenclatural history, and identification characters to quickly guide readers to desired information - Addresses aspects of insect-plant relationships, including host signaling and orientation, host specialization, pest – host evolutionary relationship, and biogeography of insects and host plant - Presents the latest research findings related to the ecological, behavioral, and physiological aspects of millet pests




Caste and Ecology in the Social Insects


Book Description

In this pathbreaking and far-reaching work George Oster and Edward Wilson provide the first fully developed theory of caste evolution among the social insects. Furthermore, in studying the effects of natural selection in generally increasing the insects' ergonomic efficiency, they go beyond the concentration of previous researchers on the physiological mechanisms of the insects and turn our attention instead to the scale and efficiency of the insects' division of labor. Recognizing that the efficiency of the insect colony is based on a complex fitting of the division of labor to many simultaneous needs, including those imposed by the distribution of resources and enemies around the nest, Professors Oster and Wilson are able to construct a series of mathematical models to characterize the agents of natural selection that promote particular caste systems. The social insects play a key role in the subject of sociobiology because their social organization is so rigid and can be related to genetic evolution. Because of this important consideration, the authors' work has consequences not only for entomology but also for general evolutionary theory.