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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > Invertebrates
Winner of the Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological and Life Sciences A world-renowned researcher of animal behavior reveals the extraordinary orienteering skills of desert ants, offering a thrilling account of the sophisticated ways insects function in their natural environments. Cataglyphis desert ants are agile ultrarunners who can tolerate near-lethal temperatures when they forage in the hot midday sun. But it is their remarkable navigational abilities that make these ants so fascinating to study. Whether in the Sahara or its ecological equivalents in the Namib Desert and Australian Outback, the Cataglyphis navigators can set out foraging across vast expanses of desert terrain in search of prey, and then find the shortest way home. For almost half a century, Rudiger Wehner and his collaborators have devised elegant experiments to unmask how they do it. Through a lively and lucid narrative, Desert Navigator offers a firsthand look at the extraordinary navigational skills of these charismatic desert dwellers and the experiments that revealed how they strategize and solve complex problems. Wehner and his team discovered that these insect navigators use visual cues in the sky that humans are unable to see, the Earth's magnetic field, wind direction, a step counter, and panoramic "snapshots" of landmarks, among other resources. The ants combine all of this information to steer an optimal course. At any given time during their long journey, they know exactly where to go. It is no wonder these nimble and versatile creatures have become models in the study of animal navigation. Desert Navigator brings to light the marvelous capacity and complexity found in these remarkable insects and shows us how mini brains can solve mega tasks.
Understanding how memories are induced and maintained is one of the major outstanding questions in modern neuroscience. This is difficult to address in the mammalian brain due to its enormous complexity, and invertebrates offer major advantages for learning and memory studies because of their relative simplicity. Many important discoveries made in invertebrates have been found to be generally applicable to higher organisms, and the overarching theme of the proposed will be to integrate information from different levels of neural organization to help generate a complete account of learning and memory. Edited by two leaders in the field, "Invertebrate Learning and
Memory "will offer a current and comprehensive review, with
chapters authored by experts in each topic. The volume will take a
multidisciplinary approach, exploring behavioral, cellular,
genetic, molecular, and computational investigations of memory.
Coverage will include comparative cognition at the behavioral and
mechanistic level, developments in concepts and methodologies that
will underlie future advancements, and mechanistic examples from
the most important vertebrate systems (nematodes, molluscs, and
insects). Neuroscience researchers and graduate students with an
interest in the neural control of cognitive behavior will benefit,
as will as will those in the field of invertebrate learning.
This book represents Part 2 of a venture started by distinguished neuroscientists to visualize and advertise the experimentally advantageous preparations of the crustacean nervous system. The advantage is a combination of ease of dissection of key structures and the possibility of repeatedly accessing identified individual cells to measure the detailed response of the system to the experimentally imposed stimulus program. Of course, the neurosciences have to focus their research on the nervous system of mammals and man in order to understand the principles of function and their regulation if malfunctions occur. This is in line with efforts to investigate nervous systems throughout the animal kingdom. The specific potential of the encountered systems for exploratory research into hitherto unexplained functions of the brain may very well be a key to new insights. The simply organized nervous system of crustaceans performs tasks of vital importance imposed on the organism. Hence this system consists of a complete set of neural circuitry open for inspection and measurement by systematic investigation. The first volume, The Crustacean Nervous System, contains exhaustive reports on experimental work from all sectors of neuroscience using crayfish and lobsters. This second volume, Crustacean Experimental Systems in Neurobiology," contains excellent reviews on significant topics in neurobiology. Each section is introduced by short texts written by the section editors of the Crustacean Nervous System. More, prominent authors explain their approach to understanding the brain using a selection of experiments involving visual orientation, neuromuscular systems and identification of principles of neural processing.
For nearly 50 years, pest control was mostly based on broad-spectrum conv- tional insecticides such as organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. However, the severe adverse effects of pesticides on the environment, problems of resistance reaching crisis proportions and public protests led to stricter regulations and legislation aimed at reducing their use. Ways to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides in plant protection and to use more alternative and novel me- ods for pest control or biorational control are the challenges of pest control for the twenty-first century. The term biorational (biological + rational) pesticides can be defined as the use of specific and selective chemicals, often with a unique modes of action, that are compatible with natural enemies and the environment, with minimal effect on n- target organisms. Biorational control is based on a diversity of chemical, biological and physical approaches for controlling insect pests which results in minimum risk to man and the environment.
Insects as a group occupy a middle ground in the biosphere between bacteria and viruses at one extreme, amphibians and mammals at the other. The size and general nature of insects present special problems to the student of entomology. For example, many commercially available instruments are geared to measure in grams, while the forces commonly encountered in studying insects are in the milligram range. Therefore, techniques developed in the study of insects or in those fields concerned with the control of insect pests are often unique. Methods for measuring things are common to all sciences. Advances sometimes depend more on how something was done than on what was measured; indeed a given field often progresses from one technique to another as new methods are discovered, developed, and modified. Just as often, some of these techniques find their way into the classroom when the problems involved have been sufficiently ironed out to permit students to master the manipulations in a few laboratory periods. Many specialized techniques are confined to one specific research labo ratory. Although methods may be considered commonplace where they are used, in another context even the simplest procedures may save con siderable time. It is the purpose of this series (1) to report new develop ments in methodology, (2) to reveal sources of groups who have dealt with and solved particular entomological problems, and (3) to describe ex periments which might be applicable for use in biology laboratory courses."
Acarology is on the move For a long time the development of Acarology as a field of biological science has been dominated by systematists and applied scientists. In the last 15 years, however, Acari have been increasingly recognized as highly suitable for the testing of theories in ecological and evolutionary sciences. The growing interest from evolutionary and molecular biologists and from population and community ecologists in mites and ticks has a strong impetus on the field of Acarology, and has already led to significant progress. This book contains many chapters that illustrate the recent progress in - mainly evolutionary and ecological aspects of - Acarology.
Mr Johnston's Annotated Catalogue of African Grasshoppers (Cambridge, 1956) presented a complete list of all species recorded from Africa up to the end of 1953. A bibliography of almost 1000 titles was used and summaries after each species gave full references to published descriptions, synonyms, figures and data on distribution, ecology, habits and economic importance. This Supplement continues the index up to the end of 1965, and also includes a few important papers published early in 1966. Since 1953, acridologists have paid considerable attention to the African fauna, and 416 new species and subspecies have been described. The control of pests such as grasshoppers and locusts is closely related to their biology, and so research must be based on a knowledge of taxonomy and systematics. Like the original Catalogue, the Supplement will be a fantastic work of reference for acridologists throughout the world.
Historecognition, broadly defined, spans the processes responsible for the regulation of the genetic integrity of self in the face of conspecific (allogeneic) and heterospecific (xenogeneic) nonself. The existence of precise historecognition systems in the invertebrates can be traced back to Bancroft's discovery in 1903 of, strain specific regulation of colony fusion in the compound ascidian Botryllus schlosseri, and Wilson's report in 1907 of species-specific sponge re-aggregation. Despite this provocative history, invertebrate historecognition remained largely unexplored for over half a century, while studies of vertebrate immune systems prospered. Then, in the 1970's, interest in invertebrate his tore cognition grew once again, this time cast largely in terms of understanding the mechanisms and evolutionary history of vertebrate immunity. From our current understanding of vertebrate immunity and invertebrate historecognition, three generalizations about their relationships can be drawn. First, despite substantial knowledge about the genetics and molecular biology of cell recognition in the context of vertebrate immunity and to a lesser extent of invertebrate historecognition, the evolutionary relationships between invertebrate self/nonself recognition and vertebrate immune systems remain obscure. Second, although vertebrate allograft recognition is of dubious functional significance itself (because intergenotypic cellular contacts are unusual, except during fertilization and pregnancy), natural allografts occur frequently as sedentary invertebrates grow and compete for living space. It is now known that the operation of invertebrate his tore cognition systems can profoundly affect the outcomes of competitive interactions by mediating allogeneic aggressive behavior and somatic fusion."
The idea of holding an Advanced Study Institute (ASI) and getting a volume out, on the Nervous Systems in Invertebrates first cropped up in the summer of 1977 at the ASI on Sensory Ecology. I had prepared a review of the nervous systems in coelomates and noticed how much we depended on Bullock and Horridge's treatise on the one hand and how much new material and requirements has cropped up since 1965, when this classical work was published. Interest in the concerted study of pollution and environmental toxicology was growing in geometrical proportions and the use of invertebrates as indices was growing. As a teacher of a course on the biology of invertebrates since the beginning of my career I had also noticed how the interest of the students and the content of my course was shifting gradually and steadily from the traditional morphology-taxonomy type to the physiology-ecology-embryology orientation. Students were demanding to know the relevency of what they had to learn. Thus, after the ASI on Photoreception and Vision in Invertebrates held in 1982 the question of one on nervous systems was raised by a number of colleagues. It appeared then that the consensus was that the time was ripe to hold one and that it will be worthwhile. Therefore, as usual arrangements had to begin at least two years in advance. Most of the persons I contacted to lecture and write chapters on selected topics agreed enthusiastically.
Drosophila is a comprehensive collection of methods and protocols for Drosophila, one of the oldest and most commonly used model organisms in modern biology. The protocols are written by the scientists who invented the methods. The text presents a diverse set of techniques that range from the basic handling of flies to more complex applications. This is the perfect reference manual for Drosophila researchers.
Ecology and Morphology of Copepods is organized under the following general topics: Behavior, Feeding, Genetics, Horizontal Variations, Morphology, Phylogeny, Reproduction, Seasonal Changes, Vertical Distribution, plus two special sessions on copepods of the genus Acartia and cyclopid/mosquito interactions. The Maxilliped Lecture, given by Dr. Arthur G. Humes of Boston University, clearly established the importance of copepods to the earth's organic diversity. The book consists of selected research articles from the different sections. The articles published here reflect the diverse research interests of copepodologists today, and are distinguished by their high quality. Their impact will ensure that this volume is consulted by a wide range of research biologists.
Countless ants transport and deposit seeds and thereby influence the survival, death, and evolution of many plant species. In higher plants, seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) has appeared many times independently in different lineages. More than 3000 plant species are known to utilize ant assistance to be planted. Myrmecochory is a very interesting and rather enigmatic form of mutualistic ant-plant associations. This phenomenon is extremely complex, because there are hundreds of ant species connected with hundreds of plant species. This book effectively combines a thorough approach to investigating morphological and physiological adaptations of plants with elegant field experiments on the behaviour of ants. This monograph is a first attempt at collecting information about morphology, ecology and phenology of ants and plants from one ecosystem. The book gives readers a panoramic view of the hidden, poorly-known interrelations not only between pairs of ants and plant species, but also between species communities in the ecosystem. The authors have considered not just one aspect of animal-plant relationships, but have tried to show them in all their complexity. Some aspects of the ant-plant interactions described in the book may be of interest to botanists, others to zoologists or ecologists, but the entire work is an excellent example of the marriage of these biological disciplines.
Insect Cell Cultures: Fundamental and Applied Aspects is a comprehensive reference work, covering the key issues involved in nearly 30 review papers: cell lines (development, characterisation, physiology, cultivation and medium design); viruses (virus-cell interactions, replication, recombinant construction, infection kinetics, post-translational modification and passage effects); engineering (shear, bioreactors including perfusion, immobilisation, scale-up and modelling, downstream processing); applications; economics and regulatory aspects. For cell biologists, biochemists, molecular biologists, virologists, immunologists and other basic and applied disciplines related to cell culture engineering, both academic and industrial.
This volume explores modern concepts of trophic and guild interactions among natural enemies in natural and agricultural ecosystems - a field that has become a hot topic in ecology and biological control over the past decade. It is the first book on trophic and guild interactions to make the link to biological control, and is compiled by internationally recognized scientists who have combined their expertise.
Feeding on Non-Prey Resources by Natural Enemies Moshe Coll Reports on the consumption of non-prey food sources, particularly plant materials, by predators and parasitoids are common throughout the literature (reviewed recently by Naranjo and Gibson 1996, Coll 1998a, Coll and Guershon, 2002). Predators belonging to a variety of orders and families are known to feed on pollen and nectar, and adult parasitoids acquire nutrients from honeydew and floral and extrafloral nectar. A recent publication by Wackers et al. (2005) discusses the p- visioning of plant resources to natural enemies from the perspective of the plant, exploring the evolutionary possibility that plants enhance their defenses by recru- ing enemies to food sources. The present volume, in contrast, presents primarily the enemies' perspective, and as such is the first comprehensive review of the nut- tional importance of non-prey foods for insect predators and parasitoids. Although the ecological significance of feeding on non-prey foods has long been underappreciated, attempts have been made to manipulate nectar and pollen ava- ability in crop fields in order to enhance levels of biological pest control by natural enemies (van Emden, 1965; Hagen, 1986; Coll, 1998a). The importance of n- prey foods for the management of pest populations is also discussed in the book."
One of the main reasons that we organized this edited volume is to increase - ternational awareness of the growing use of invertebrate pathogens for control and eradication of invasive arthropods. As the numbers of invasive species continues to rise, more insect pathologists have been involved with work on their control using entomopathogens. In fact, this is not a new area of focus for insect pathologists; work on microbes against invasive arthropods began more than a century ago with classicalbiologicalcontrolintroductionsofentomopathogenicfungiagainstinvasive species in the 1890s. Chapters in this book cover entomopathogens that have been developedforcontrolofinvasivespeciesovermanydecades(e. g. anematodeagainst Sirex noctilio and Bacillus thuringiensis against gypsy moth) while other chapters focusondevelopmentofcontrolmeasuresforveryrecentinvasives(e. g. emeraldash borer?rstfoundintheUSin2002). SinceboththeUnitedStatesandNewZealandare countrieswithabundanttrade, whichisakeypathwayforinvasives, wehavebeenvery awareofthegrowingnumbers ofinvasive pestsarrivinginour owncountries andthe needforcontrolstrategies. Wehavebeencloselyinvolvedwiththeircontrolusing- crobes, atvaryinglevels(fromlaboratorybenchto?eldstudiestonationalcommittees evaluating eradication programs using the entomopathogen B. thuringiensis). Within the past few years, symposia on use of microbes for invasive control have been organized twice at the annual meetings of the Society of Invertebrate Pathology (2005 - Anchorage, Alaska, and 2007 - Quebec City, Quebec, Canada), demonstrating interest in this subject across the international community of inv- tebrate pathologists. However, no written summaries, covering the different types of pathogens being studied, developed and used for control, have previously - dressed this subje
This series originated during a visit of prof. K. G. Mukerji to the CNR Plant Protection Institute at Bari, Italy, in November 2005. Both editors convened to produce a series of five volumes focusing, in a multi-disciplinary approach, on recent advances and achievements in the practice of crop protection and integrated pest and disease management. This fourth Volume deals with management of nematodes parasitic of tree crops, and includes a section on tropical fruit crops and commodities, as well as a second section on tree crops from more temperate areas. The latter also includes a chapter updating the current knowledge about the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Volume 4 flanks Volume 2 of this IMPD series, which focused on management of vegetable and grain crops nematodes. Nematodes are a very successful, diversified and specialised animal group, present in nature in any ecological niche. Among nematode species, only a reduced number feeds on plants, of which a few species cause severe economic impacts on crop productions. Plant parasitic nematodes represent an important concern for a broad range of agricultural productions and systems, worldwide. This statement explains the attention devoted in last decades to nematodes, and the research and technical efforts invested for their control.
Mechanisms and Deployment of Resistance in Trees to Insects is a worldwide synthesis of tree resistance to insects. The contributions are by senior scientists and represent all the major forested regions of the world. The book constitutes a comprehensive treatment of the state of our knowledge on patterns of resistance by insect guilds and how this knowledge can be deployed to achieve the management of damaging forest insects. This book will serve as an essential reference book for all researchers and practitioners attempting to manage forest pests using genetic resistance.
When Franklin published her book on cyst nematodes in 1951, the cyst nematodes were already known as serious pests of brassicas, cereals, potatoes and sugar beets. However, at that time this group of nematode, with about 12 species, was considered tobe largely temperate in distribu tion. Now a total of 105 species (including those that are considered as synonyms or species inquirende by some or all) within six genera of cyst nematodes have been described from temperate, tropical, and subtropical regions and at least five species are important constraints to crop produc tion in tropical agriculture. The previous impression of localization of cyst nematodes in the temperate region was seemingly an artifact due to a greater concentration of nematologists in the temperate regions. Based on my own experience of working in several Asian and African countries, I believe that many more undescribed species are present in the tropical countries of Asia and Africa, and probably in other tropical regions. Most growers, extension workers, and research managers in these regions are still not aware of the possible harm of presence of these nematodes in their agricultural soils. The cyst nematodes are perhaps smaller than the smallest available computer chip but they are very well programmed to survive and pro pagate despite severe hardships. These nematodes are very selective in their choice of food; about 50% of known species are parasites of plants mainly in the families Poaceae and Fabaceae."
This is a textbook providing basic data about the crop pests and the damage they inflict throughout the tropics and sub-tropics. Each major pest is illustrated by either a line drawing or a photograph, and sometimes the damage can also be seen. A world distribution map is provided for each species. Control measures tend to be general rather than very specific. Most of the pests are insects and mites, but some nematodes, molluscs, birds and mammals are included.
Keeping the requirements of teachers and researchers in mind, this encyclopedic dictionary presents the terminology in entomology and pest management in the most authentic and comprehensive way. It also includes terms related to the close relatives of insects, such as mites and ticks and some other organisms which are pests of crops.
Anisoptera is the first of two volumes on the Odonata in the series Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects. The second will treat the Zygoptera. The Anisoptera volume encompasses the large dragonfly species. A brief review of the biology of the group includes illustrations of the main morphological features as well as explainations of alternative systems for naming the wing veins and other structures. This will prepare the user of the volume to understand the different names for the same structures that he will encounter in the literature. The review is then followed by keys to facilitate identification of the adult dragonflies and the known larvae, allowing the user a high probability of identifying his specimens correctly. In addition to anatomical features, the keys include the known ranges of the species, synonyms, and citations of literature in which more information about each individual species can be obtained. These citations are compiled in an extensive bibliography, including titles of the original publications in which descriptions of almost all South American species appeared. Although taxonomic revisions are deliberately avoided, suggestions for additional research are provided where the validity of taxa seems doubtful. To provide the user with the best possible opportunity to distinguish the species, the keys are richly illustrated with pen and ink drawings of thousands of individual morphological structures arranged in 797 figures. It is certain that significant changes will occur in the systematics of South American dragonflies in the future, and this book should provide the impetus needed to accelerate the revisional work. Meanwhile, it will provide a comprehensive overview of the Anisoptera in South America that is otherwise unavailable to most South American scientists because of the great difficulties in obtaining the hundreds of publications from numerous countries in which the descriptions and revisions of the species appeared. It also provides young entomologists with a basic text for learning what they need to know to work effectively with the Anisoptera of South America and adjacent regions. Already published within this encyclopedia: -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Collembola
ISBN: 0-7923-6704-9 Forthcoming book titles:
This book reviews interagency research and development of classical (importation) biological control of Bemisia tabaci (biotype B) conducted in the USA from 1992- 2002. The successful discovery, evaluation, release, and establishment of at least five exotic B. tabaci natural enemies in rapid response to the devastating infestations in the USA represents a landmark in interagency cooperation and coordination of multiple disciplines. The review covers all key aspects of the classical biocontrol program, beginning with foreign exploration and quarantine culture, through dev- opment of mass rearing methodology, laboratory and field evaluation for efficacy, to field releases, integration with other management approaches, and monitoring for establishment and potential non-target impacts. The importance of morphological and molecular taxonomy to the success of the program is also emphasized. The book's contributors include 28 USDA, state department of agriculture, and univ- sity scientists who participated in various aspects of the project. Bemisia tabaci continues to be a pest of major concern in many parts of the world, especially since the recent spread of the Q biotype, so the publication of a review of the biological control program for the B biotype is especially timely. We anticipate that our review of the natural enemies that were evaluated and which have established in the USA will benefit researchers and IPM practitioners in other nations affected by B. tabaci.
An ambitious and beautifully illustrated account of the evolution and biology of insects. Insects are the busy, teeming arthropods on whose activities much of life on earth depends, and whose global populations are currently under the gravest of threats - with unimaginable consequences for us all. In Alien Worlds, Steve Nicholls explores nothing less than a complete natural history of insects, bringing us on a journey through a world of a million species and their phenomenal and extraordinary diversity. A fantastically authoritative and congenial guide, led by a fluent and entertaining writer with the ability to make complex ideas comprehensible, it is not only a feast for the curious mind but also contains beautiful and visually arresting imagery of the tiny beasts whom we depend on greatly.
In July 2001 experts from all around the world met in Reykjavik, Iceland to discuss various issues of polychaete biology. In particular the latest developments in cladistic inference of polychaete phylogeny were presented. Some studies applied recent molecular techniques, revealing unknown genetic relationships between the different families of polychaetous annelids. This volume is of interest to specialists and students seeking an introduction to the latest developments in the field of systematics and ecology of polychaetous annelids. This book is one in a series presenting results from the International Polychaete conferences. |
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