Plant–Animal Interactions: Evolutionary Ecology in Tropical and Temperate Regions - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 047150937X ISBN 13: 9780471509370

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 1991

Synopsis

Novel Aspects of Insect–Plant Interactions Edited by Pedro Barbosa and Deborah K. Letourneau Focusing on three trophic levels, this study widens the current understanding of the ecological interactions between plants, herbivores, and their parasitoids and predators. Emphasized are the mediating effects of plant–derived allelochemicals on those interactions. The text also covers microorganisms as mediators of intertrophic and intratrophic interactions; theory and mechanisms: plant effects via allelochemicals on the third trophic level; and key roles of plant allelochemicals in survival strategies of herbivores. 1988 (0 471–83276–6) 362 pp. Plant Stress–Insect Interactions Edited by E. A. Heinrichs "This is a far–reaching, seminal book that summarizes our understanding of the complexity of real–world ecology." —Choice This first major overview of the various abiotic and biotic stresses on plants outlines in detail what impact their responses have on their suitability as insect hosts. The effects of abiotic stress are catalogued in up–to–date research from leading specialists. The implications of plant stress on global food production in this era of diminishing croplands and rising populations is described, as well as avenues for the development of tolerant crop cultivars. 1988 (0 471–82648–0) 492 pp. Plant Resistance to Insects A Fundamental Approach C. Michael Smith This comprehensive text—developed out of the author’s vast field and academic experience—describes how biological and agricultural scientists identify and develop plant materials resistant to insects. Covers terminology and categories of resistance; investigative techniques for studying plant resistance; and crop management systems that use insect–resistant cultivars. Supplemented with tables detailing types and numbers of insect–resistant plant cultivars in the U.S. and formulae on quantifying plant tolerance of insects. 1989 (0 471–84938–3) 286 pp.

About this title

About the Author

About the editors Peter W. Price is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University. He is the author of Insect Ecology, Second Edition and Evolutionary Biology of Parasites, and has edited two other texts. Thomas M. Lewinsohn is a professor in the Department of Zoology at Universidade Estadual de Campinas. He has travelled extensively, investigating insect communities on flower heads of the composite family Asteraceae, generating a broad comparative view spanning tropical and temperate latitudes. Geraldo Wilson Fernandes is an assistant professor in the Department of General Biology at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. He is well known for his studies on formerly undiscovered tropical galling insect species. Woodruff W. Benson is a professor in the Department of Zoology at Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Dr. Benson has taken a leading role in developing interest and expertise in the sciences of evolutionary ecology and plant–herbivore relationships in Brazil.

From the Inside Flap

Home to an infinite variety of biological ecosystems, the ecology of the tropics represents a wellspring of vital, yet largely untapped data for scientists specializing in temperate regions. Bridging the separate spheres of research long characterizing temperate and tropical ecological science, Plant–Animal Interactions: Evolutionary Ecology in Tropical and Temperate Regions captures the essence of the galvanizing and broad–based attention now given to the once mysterious tropics. An outgrowth of an international symposium on Evolutionary Ecology of Tropical Herbivores held at UNICAMP, Brazil, this unique collaborative effort from leading scientists worldwide is the first comparative analysis of the existing ecological systems of temperate and tropical regions. In–depth and timely, the text s manifold analyses includes a discussion of:

• Tropical and temperate comparisons
• Mutualistic relationships between plants and animals
• Antagonistic relationships between plants and animals
• Plant–butterfly interactions
• Specificity in plant utilization
• Community patterns in natural and agricultural systems

With explicit detail, the text then unravels the many rich and varied themes underlying and controlling plant–animal interactions in the tropical and temperate regions. These include herbivore attack and plant defense, community patterns on latitudinal gradients, the linkage between species richness, population abundances, and body sizes in insect communities, composition of ant–plant symbioses, the effects of increased nitrogen fixation and carbon dioxide on herbivores, changes in plant communities as vertebrate herbivores become rare or absent, and issues that bear on the viability of the ecology of the tropic and temperate regions. Particularly instructive are the unique and varied approaches to research problems used by the various contributors, making the text, in part, a valuable handbook of current field methods. Amply illustrated with 150 detailed graphics, the text provides a fascinating visual tour of the flora and fauna described. Extensive citations to the primary literature are also included. Ecologists, entomologists, evolutionary biologists, agricultural scientists, and graduate–level students will find that Plant–Animal Interactions provides them with innovative research tools and timely data. This fascinating work represents not simply a bold expedition into the lush primeval terrain of the tropics but into the new landscape bridging all latitudes of ecological science tomorrow.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 047150937X
• ISBN 13: 9780471509370
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 640
• Editor: Price Peter W., Lewinsohn Thomas M., Fernandes G. Wilson, Benson Woodruff W.