With few exceptions, insects are perceived in industrialized countries as undesirable pests. In reality, relatively few insects interfere with us or our resources. Most have benign or positive effects on ecosystem services, and many represent useful resources in non-industrialized countries. Challenging traditional perceptions of the value of insects, Insects and Sustainability of Ecosystem Services explores the ways insects affect the ecosystem services we depend upon. It also fosters an appreciation for the amazing diversity, adaptive ability, and natural roles of insects. The book discusses how the ways in which we manage insects will determine an ecosystem's capacity to continue to supply services. It reviews aspects of insect physiology, behavior, and ecology that affect their interactions with other ecosystem components and ecosystem services, emphasizing critical effects of insects on the sustainability of ecosystem processes and services. The author examines the integration of insect ecology with self-regulatory aspects of ecosystems that control primary production, energy and nutrient fluxes, and global climate-functions that underlie the sustainability of ecosystem services. Clearly, we need environmental policies that meet needs for pest control where warranted, but do not undermine the important contributions of insects to sustaining ecosystem processes and services. With in-depth coverage of the multiple, often compensatory, effects of insects on various resources or ecosystem services and on the consequences of control tactics for those resources or services, Insects and Sustainability of Ecosystem Services recommends changes in perspectives and policies regarding insects that will contribute to sustainability of ecosystem services.

The words pronounced by Serge Kreiter during the meeting come to mind. They could record exactly the situation of Acarology in Europe and in the World: "I think that in many European countries there are very few full time acarologists. It is very rare to have new positions available . . . . And public money, from the European Community but also from national countries, is very hard to get when you want to work on mites . . . . Could two acarological associations in Europe (Eur. A. Ac. and S. I. A. L. F) work together or, better, get married?" So, the fourth symposium of the European Acarologists has not only been the occasion to have an idea on which direction the research is addressed today, but also it pointed out the difficulties of our "scientific hranch." On the basis of the presentations and invited papers we had evidences of a "new" Acarology based on modern techniques and methods of investigations but also the importance, often sheltered even if of relevant value, of the "old" Acarology made on the alpha taxonomy and basic studies. So, a "new" Acarology needs the "old" one. In this context, the hope to put together the European acarologists has been coming up. This fact, of political meaning, can surely improve the acarological movement and the discussion on this point showed clearly the importance of several other activities and efforts in this direction. We hope that the meeting in Siena will represent a significative stone for the progress of Acarology.

The subject area embraced by the term "biological control" in its classical sense is very broad indeed. The term itself was apparently first used in 1919 by the late Harry S. Smith, and was then used specifically in reference to the suppression of insect populations by the actions of their indigenous or introduced natural enemies. The California school of biological control specialists who followed in Smith's footsteps have traditionally differentiated "natural" biological control (by indigenous natural enemies) and "applied" biological control (by man-introduced natural enemies). Subsequently, the philosophy broadened beyond the original narrow concern with population suppression of insects (and especially pest insects), to embrace directed activities against mites or other arthropod pests, various invertebrate and vertebrate pests, weeds, and organisms producing disease in humans or their domestic animals and plants. The techniques used in these activities also multiplied beyond the original concern with natural enemies. The subjects area discussed in this book is, at the same time, broader and more restricted than that covered in other books on "biological control. " On the one hand, the treatment here is restrictive in that, with rare exception, we have limited ourselves to dealing only with ideas and examples involving the suppression of insect pests through human activity or intervention in the environment.

Marine Bivalve Molluscs is a comprehensive and thoroughly updated second edition of Bivalve Molluscs, covering all major aspects of this important class of invertebrates. As well as being an important class biologically and ecologically, many of the bivalves are fished and cultured commercially (e.g. mussels, oysters, scallops and clams) in a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry. Elizabeth Gosling has written a landmark book that will stand for many years as the standard work on the subject. Chapters in Marine Bivalve Molluscs cover morphology, ecology, feeding, reproduction, settlement and recruitment, growth, physiology, fisheries, aquaculture, genetics, diseases and parasites, and public health issues. A full understanding of many of these aspects is vital for all those working in bivalve fisheries and culture. An essential purchase for anyone concerned with this important class of animals, copies of Marine Bivalve Molluscs should be on the shelves of biologists, ecologists, environmental scientists, fisheries scientists and personnel within the aquaculture industry. Copies of the book should be available in all libraries and research establishments where these subjects are studied or taught. Reviews of the First Edition An admirable achievement...a valuable addition to marine sciences libraries everywhere. The back cover of this book says that it is a landmark text that will stand for many years as the standard work on this subject. I can only agree with this sentiment. Aquaculture A welcome addition to the literature and provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of biological and environmental factors that affect and control both natural populations of marine bivalves and culture operations. Aquaculture International The author has done an admirable job in compiling a wealth of information into a readable text. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society Will serve well as a description of much of both the experimental biology and the aquaculture of bivalves. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology Provides excellent reviews of all major aspects an extremely important reference for anyone engaged in bivalve research, fisheries management, and aquaculture. Quarterly Review of Biology The book is very readable, in an easy style. It is well illustrated and there is a wealth of data and statistics presented. Bulletin of The Malacological Society of London

Annelida, mainly consisting of marine Polychaeta and in faunal and partly parasitic Clitellata, is one the most significant metazoan taxa. Its more than 20.000 described species invade nearly all habitats and play a central role in marine benthic systems as well as in terrestrial soil communities. Annelids include all soft-bodied segmented worm-like organisms and have been recognized as a separate "phylum" for almost 200 years.

Recently, evidence has been accumulated which shows that some of the groups formerly regarded as independent "phyla" such as Pogonophora (now recognized as Siboglinidae), Echiura, Myzostomida and perhaps Sipuncula, are most probably nothing else than greatly modified Annelida. The extreme morphological diversity found especially in Polychaeta displays the plasticity of a simple segmented organisation that basically is nothing else but a serial repetition of identical units. Thus, annelids are highly important to our understanding of fundamental questions about morphological and adaptive diversity, as well as clarifying evolutionary changes and phylogenetic relationships.

The book aims to summarize our knowledge on Polychaetes polychaetes and their allies and gives an overview of recent advances gained by studies that employed conventional and modern methods plus, increasingly and importantly, the use of molecular markers and computer-assisted kinship analyses. It also reflects the state of art in polychaete sciences and presents new questions and controversies. As such it will significantly influence the direction of research on Polychaeta and their related taxa.

In his preface to early editions of this book, the late Dr. A. D. Imms said that he intended it to be an elementary account of entomology as a branch of general biology. He had especially in mind the needs of university students of zoology and agriculture, as well as those intending later to specialize in entomology, and he suggested that the book might also interest teachers of advanced biology'in schools. These general aims and the balance between the different aspects of the subject have changed little in this and in our previous revision. We have, however, tried to bring the present edition up to date on the lines of our revised tenth edition of Imms' General Textbook of Entomology, published in 1977. The text has been entirely re-set and eleven illustrations have been replaced by new figures. The same orders . of insects are recognized as in the last edition, but the sequence in which the Endopterygote groups appear has been changed to reflect more accurately their probable evolutionary relationships. Many small changes and some addi tions have been made in the physiological sections, the chapter on the origin and phylogeny of insects has been rewritten, and a new bibliography provides a selection of modern references for the in tending specialist. It has been our object to make these alterations without materially increasing the length of the book or its level of difficulty."

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.

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.

Large parts of the continents are covered by a green blanket of living plants. From an insect's point of view this green blanket is not uniform, but consists of a mosaic of resources of variable quality and with various levels of noxious secondary compounds. It is the challenge of phytophagous insects to orientate and reproduce within this mosaic of resources and among hostile competitors and natural enemies. The International Symposia on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP) provides fora where scientists from different fields (mainly in biology and chemistry) meet and discuss the most recent findings which contribute to our understanding of the complex interactions between plants and insects. The meetings seek to unravel basic mechanisms as well as applied aspects. It is recognized that human activities now have major influence on virtually all the world's ecosystems, and a better understanding of the dynamics of insect-plant interactions may be useful for development of new crop protection strategies and for coping with the threatening loss of biodiversity.

The 11th International Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP11), held on August 4-10, 2001, in Helsingor, Denmark, followed the tradition of previous SIP meetings and covered topics of different levels from chemistry, physiology, and ethology to ecology, genetics, and evolution of insect-plant relationships. The present volume includes a representative selection of fully refereed papers as well as a complete list of all the contributions which were presented at the meeting. Reviews of selected topics as well as original experimental data are included. The book provides valuable information for students and research workers interested in chemical and biological aspects of interactions between individuals and populations of different organisms. "

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."

Oar Feet and Opal Teeth is about free-living copepods and the copepodologists who study them. Copepods are a subclass of the arthropod class Crustacea. They act as dominant herbivores and small predators in the planktonic ecosystems of oceans, estuaries, and lakes. Copepods are likely the largest assemblage of complex animals on earth. These strikingly beautiful small crustaceans are of wide ecological significance and as complex and precisely adapted as insects. Yet few biologists and others interested in animals are familiar with them. In Oar Feet and Opal Teeth, Charles B. Miller introduces these small crustaceans and the scientists devoting their careers to revealing their biology. In twenty-one chapters, Miller details the defining features and general biology of copepods. They typically have four or five pairs of oar-like feet to drive escape jumps. Teeth on mandible extensions are formed with siliceous minerals akin to opal. The first two chapters of the book closely examine the oar feet and mouth parts. Subsequent chapters describe internal anatomy, taxonomy, and many aspects of copepod natural history. Recent evolutionary insights about them are reviewed; those are based on molecular genetics and reach back to the Cambrian explosion. Oar Feet and Opal Teeth includes over twenty biographical sketches of copepodologists from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Among them, Russell Hopcroft, a premier photographer of plankton, has full-color copepod images featured throughout the book. Jeannette Yen learned how Euchaeta marina detects prey and studies how ready-for-mating copepods find each other. Shinichi Uye of Hiroshima University studied the production by copepods of resting eggs and their delayed development. Grace Wyngaard is studying the special embryonic cell-divisions of some lake copepods for eliminating "junk DNA." Miller based most of the profiles featured in the book on personal interviews he conducted.

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 is the first time that a single book has attempted to cover the whole of the fossil history of insects so comprehensively. The volume embraces the history of insect palaeontology, methods for studying fossils, the taphonomic processes leading to their formation, the diagnostic features of all insect orders, both extant and extinct, the major fossils of each order, and the implications that can be drawn from the palaeoentomological record about past ecology and climates. Many new insights are presented.
It is the product principally of the largest palaeoentomological group in the world, in Moscow, and makes full use of the remarkable collection that these workers have developed. It includes a very large number of illustrations showing both real fossils and reconstructions of extinct taxa. The systematic part is treated in a phylogenetic framework, with information on fossil groups being used to help interpret relationships. An appendix provides information on virtually all sites where fossil insects have been found. This book is essential to all students of palaeoentomology and contains a wealth of information that will be of interest to students of insect evolutionary relationships and of palaeontology in general.

In this book, numerous prominent aquaculture researchers contribute 27 chapters that provide overviews of aquaculture effects on the environment. They comprise a comprehensive synthesis of many ecological and genetic problems implicated in the practice of aquaculture and of many proven, attempted, or postulated solutions to those problems. This is an outstanding source of reference for all types of aquaculture activities.

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.

This, the first volume of the Integrated Management of Plant Pests and Diseases book series, presents general concepts on integrated pest and disease management. Section one includes chapters on infection models, resurgence and replacement, plant disease epidemiology and effects of climate change in tropical environments. The second section includes remote sensing and information technology. Finally, the third section covers molecular aspects of the subject."

Biological control is among the most promising methods for control of pests, diseases and weeds, and this book treats ecological and societal aspects together for the first time. The aim is to evaluate the significance of certain biological properties like biodiversity and natural habitats. In a societal approach terms like 'consumer's attitude', 'risk perception', 'learning and education' and 'value triangle' are recognized as significant for biological production and human welfare.

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."

This work was begun to provide keys to the aquatic insect species known from Brazil. The original goal was to include all genera known from South America and all species from Brazil, but for most groups, the scope was expanded to encompass all species in South America, and, in some cases, to include terrestrial species of orders comprising both terrestrial and aquatic taxa. In no case is a taxonomic rev1s10n of any group undertaken, although recommendations for such revisions are included where appropriate, and probable synonymy of nominal species still treated as valid in the literature is noted. Two different approaches will be employed according to the taxon being treated. For phylogenetic groups encompassing overwhelmingly or exclusively aquatic species, such as the orders Plecoptera and Ephemeroptera or the families Dytiscidae and Culicidae, keys are provided to distinguish all genera and species known to occur in South America. An effort has been made to include every identifiable species so that the user of the key can determine with reasonable certainty whether or not his specimen belongs to a species that has already been described or whether it is one that is not yet known to science. Where feasible, complete keys will be prepared for groups containing both aquatic and terrestrial species that do not encompass an extraordinarily large number of species. This has already been done for the order Collembola.