On the Wings of Checkerspots: A Model System for Population Biology - Hardcover

Ehrlich, Paul R.; Hanski, Ilkka

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 019515827X ISBN 13: 9780195158274

Publisher: OUP USA, 2004

Synopsis

Checkerspot butterflies have been used as an extraordinarily successful model system for more than four decades. This volume presents the first synthesis of the broad range of studies of that system as conducted in Ehrlich's research group in Stanford, in Hanski's research group in Helsinki and elsewhere. Ehrlich's long - term research project on Edith's checkerspot helped establish an intergrated disipline of population biology in the 1960s and ever since has contributed many fundamental insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations. Hanski's and his associates' work an the Glanville fritillary for the past 14 years has been instrumental in establishing the field of metapopulation biology and showing how theoretical and empirical work can be effectively combined in the same project.

About this title

Review

"Checkerspot butterflies are rightly celebrated in this book as important model organisms for applied conservation, as well as for our basic understanding in population biology. This is a very nicely edited and professionally produced book that is an important and useful review of checkerspot work over the past 40 years." -- TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution

"To cite the editors' ultimate purpose, the major intellectual challenge of population biology "is understanding the functioning of natural populations - how they are distributed and structured, how and why their sizes change, and how they evolove." In many respects, the book offers basic insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of insect populations generally, not just of checkerspots, and thus forms a classic of modern biology." -- Nature

"The book is well written, well produced, and error free... Overall, this is an excellent book, even for those that do not have a strong interest in population dynamics. The history of the projects, the biology of the butterflies, and the philosophies promoted are worthy of anybody's time." -- BioScience

"...although the book is an edited volume with 15 contributors, it was obviously well planned and reads more like the work of a single author. Its structure could be a model for anyone wanting to write an overview of their particular research system. I strongly recommend On the Wings of Checkerspots to anyone interested in evolution, ecology, or entertaining and interesting stories about butterflies." -- Science

"This book should be required reading for all conservation biologists." -- Science

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 019515827X
• ISBN 13: 9780195158274
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 408