This textbook provides the first overview of plant-animal interactions for twenty years focused on the needs of students and professors. It discusses a range of topics from the basic structures of plant-animal interactions to their evolutionary implications in producing and maintaining biodiversity. It also highlights innovative aspects of plant-animal interactions that can represent highly productive research avenues, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in a future career in ecology. Written by leading experts, and employing a variety of didactic tools, the book is useful for students and teachers involved in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses addressing areas such as herbivory, trophic relationships, plant defense, pollination and biodiversity.

This book compiles for the first time all the current information on the electronic monitoring of the feeding behavior of phytophagous true bugs. It includes state-of-the-art illustrations of feeding sites on the various plant structures, and examines how the different feeding strategies are related to the variable waveforms generated using the electropenetrography (EPG) technique. Further, the book describes the mouthparts and modes of feeding and discusses the physical and chemical damage resulting from feeding activities. Covering in detail all EPG studies developed and conducted using true bugs published to date, it explores the use of electronic monitoring of feeding coupled with histological analyses to improve strategies to control true bugs, from traditional chemical methods to gene silencing (RNAi).

Offering an example for transnational cooperation and successful reduction of a neglected tropical disease, this volume shows how Chinese scientists and local physicians controlled schistosomiasis in Zanzibar. Over a four-year study, local medical specialists and the population of Zanzibar were taught how to diagnose the parasitosis caused by flukes (trematode worms) of the genus Schistosoma. Furthermore, methods to eliminate the disease and prevent new infections were established. The developed control system will avoid repeated increase of human schistosomiasis, which is still prevalent in the tropics and subtropics. Rural populations and poor communities lacking access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation are most affected. This book is a blueprint of activities urgently needed to combat schistosomiasis in countries with low medical impact. The strategies outlined are particularly relevant to parasitologists and professionals in public health, physicians, medical personnel and also governmental, healthcare and pharmaceutical institutions.

It is widely acknowledged that life has adapted to its environment, but the precise mechanism remains unknown since Natural Selection, Descent with Modification and Survival of the Fittest are metaphors that cannot be scientifically tested. In this unique text, invertebrate and vertebrate biologists illuminate the effects of physiologic stress on epigenetic responses in the process of evolutionary adaptation from unicellular organisms to invertebrates and vertebrates, respectively. This book offers a novel perspective on the mechanisms underlying evolution. Capacities for morphologic alterations and epigenetic adaptations subject to environmental stresses are demonstrated in both unicellular and multicellular organisms. Furthermore, the underlying cellular-molecular mechanisms that mediate stress for adaptation will be elucidated wherever possible. These include examples of 'reverse evolution' by Professor Guex for Ammonites and for mammals by Professor Torday and Dr. Miller. This provides empiric evidence that the conventional way of thinking about evolution as unidirectional is incorrect, leaving open the possibility that it is determined by cell-cell interactions, not sexual selection and reproductive strategy. Rather, the process of evolution can be productively traced through the conservation of an identifiable set of First Principles of Physiology that began with the unicellular form and have been consistently maintained, as reflected by the return to the unicellular state over the course of the life cycle.

Mosquitoes, Communities, and Public Health in Texas focuses on 87 known species of mosquitoes found throughout Texas. It includes information on the ecology, medical and public health importance, and biological diversity of each species. In addition, it provides detailed identification keys for both larval and adult stages of all mosquito genera and species known to occur in Texas, along a review of surveillance and control strategies. The expansion of invasive mosquitoes from other regions (including Mexico), together with climate change occurrences increase the likelihood for an increase in diseases, such as West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika. This unique work is the first unified reference and resource rich in mosquito information for medical entomologists, mosquito and vector control professionals, pest management professionals, biologists, environmentalists, wildlife professionals, government regulators, instructors of medical entomology and public health professionals who have disease or vector responsibilities, mosquito taxonomists, epidemiologists, entomology students, academia, pest control industry, and libraries, etc., with utility for medical, veterinary and health professionals.

A BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED LOOK AT THE LIVES AND MIND-BOGGLING BEHAVIOURS OF INSECTS How to Read an Insect takes you on an unforgettable tour of the insect world, presenting these amazing creatures as you have never seen them before. This stunningly illustrated guide puts a wealth of fascinating behaviours under the microscope - from elegant displays of courtship to brutal acts of predation. Along the way, Ross Piper charts the evolution of insects and reveals everything you need to know about how they nest, feed, reproduce and defend themselves. He concludes by discussing the impact of the human world on insects, and what we can do to prevent their decline in numbers. * Explores the remarkable lifestyles of exotic insects as well as those in your own garden. * Includes highlights from a wide range of new insect behaviour studies. * Features a wealth of breathtaking colour photos, illustrations, and graphics.

A valuable new reference on insect behavior, this exceptional new text delves into the primary sensory communication system used by most insects -- their sense of smell. This important text covers how insects produce pheromones and how they detect pheromones and plant volatiles. Since insects rely on pheromone detection for both feeding and breeding, a better understanding of insect olfaction and pheromone biosynthesis could help curb the behavior of pests without the use of harmful pesticides and even help to reduce the socio-economic impacts associated to human-insect interactions.
* Covers biochemistry and molecular biology of insect pheromone production
* Explains pheromone production in moths, beetles, flies, and social insects
* Describes pheromone and plant volatile reception

This book offers the first comprehensive review of parasitic Crustacea, which are among the most successful and diverse parasites. Starting with an introductory chapter, followed by an historic overview and topic-specific chapters, each presenting a different aspect of parasitic crustacean biology, it enables readers to gain a better understanding of how these parasites function and allows direct comparisons between the different parasitic crustacean groups. The authors also discuss, in depth, the adaptations and interactions that have made parasitic Crustacea as successful as they are today, covering topics ranging from the history of their discovery, their biodiversity, phylogeny, evolution and life strategies to their role as vectors, or hosts of other organisms, and their significance in ecological processes. Consisting of ten chapters from leading international experts in the field, this volume offers a one-stop resource for all researchers, lecturers, students and practitioners.

Australia's varied grasslands have suffered massive losses and changes since European settlement, and those changes continue under increasingly intensive human pressures for development and agricultural production. The values of native grasslands for conservation of endemic native biodiversity, both flora and fauna, have led to strong interests in the protection of remaining fragments, especially near urban centres, and documentation of the insects and other inhabitants of grasslands spanning tropical to cool temperate parts of the country. Attention to conservation of grassland insects in Australia is relatively recent, but it is increasingly apparent that grasslands harbour many localised and ecologically specialised endemic species. Their conservation necessarily advances from very incomplete documentation, and draws heavily on lessons from the far better-documented grasslands elsewhere, most notably in the northern hemisphere, and undertaken over far longer periods. From those cases, and the extensive background to grassland management to harmonise conservation with production and amenity values through honing use of processes such as grazing, mowing and fire, the needs and priorities for Australia can become clearer, together with needs for grassland restoration at a variety of scales. This book is a broad overview of conservation needs of grassland insects in Australia, drawing on the background provided elsewhere in the world on the responses to disturbances, and the ecological importance, of some key insect groups (notably Orthoptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera) to suggest how insect conservation in native, pastoral and urban grasslands may be advanced. The substantial references given for each chapter facilitate entry for non-entomologist grassland managers and stewards to appreciate the diversity and importance of Australia's grassland insects, their vulnerabilities to changes, and the possibilities for conserving them and the wider ecological roles in which they participate.

The book reviews key developments in downy mildew research, including the disease, its distribution, symptomatology, host range, yield losses, and disease assessment; the pathogen, its taxonomy, morphology, phylogeny, variability, sporulation, survival and perpetuation, spore germination, infection, pathogenesis, seed infection, disease cycle, epidemiology, forecasting, and fine structures. The book also elaborates the mechanisms of host resistance (biochemical, histological, genetic, and molecular, including cloning and the mapping of R-genes), disease resistance breeding strategies, and the genetics of host-parasite interactions. It explores disease management based on cultural, chemical, biological, host resistance, and integrated approaches; and provides suggestions for future research areas. This book offers a comprehensive guide to an economically important disease, reviewing in detail the extant body of literature. Divided into 16 chapters, each of which includes a wealth of photographs, graphs, histograms, tables, figures, flow charts, micrographs etc., it represents an invaluable source of information for all researchers, teachers, students, industrialists, farmers, policymakers, and all others who are interested in growing healthy and profitable cruciferous crops all over the world.

Of the 758 species of hard ticks (family Ixodidae) currently known to science, 137 (18%) are found in the Neotropical Zoogeographic Region, an area that extends from the eastern and western flanks of the Mexican Plateau southward to southern Argentina and Chile and that also includes the Greater and Lesser Antilles and the Galapagos Islands. This vast and biotically rich region has long attracted natural scientists, with the result that the literature on Neotropical ticks, which are second only to mosquitoes as vectors of human disease and are of paramount veterinary importance, is enormous, diffuse, and often inaccessible to non-specialists. In this book, three leading authorities on the Ixodidae have combined their talents to produce a summary of essential information for every Neotropical tick species. Under each species name, readers will find an account of the original taxonomic description and subsequent redescriptions, followed by an overview of its geographic distribution and host relationships, including a discussion of human parasitism. Additional sections provide detailed analyses of tick distribution by country and zoogeographic subregion (the Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America, South America, and the Galapagos Islands), together with a review of the phenomenon of invasive tick species and examination of the many valid and invalid names that have appeared in the Neotropical tick literature. The text concludes with an unprecedented tabulation of all known hosts of Neotropical Ixodidae, including the tick life history stages collected from each host. This book is an invaluable reference for biologists and biomedical personnel seeking to familiarize themselves with the Neotropical tick fauna.

Butterfly Wing Patterns and Mimicry, Volume 54, provides an essential reference for those interested in molecular Entomology and the study of natural selection. The volume spans work on the genetics of polymorphism in Heliconius butterflies through to a detailed analysis of the role of CRISPR-CAS in dissecting wing patterning. The volume covers both the evolution and fine scale development of both pattern and pigmentation. The role of wing shape is also considered for the first time in a formal analysis. It should be of interest to both experts and students interested in Entomology and its application to fundamental questions in evolution.

This book summarizes the recent advancements in identifying the mosquito vectors and discusses various strategies for their control. The book describes various molecular taxonomic methods, including DNA barcoding and single nucleotide polymorphism-based machine learning approach, which are used for the identification of mosquito vectors. It also presents the various mosquito control methods, namely, phytochemicals, Bacillus thuringiensis toxins, nanotechnology, biological control agents, and environmental management strategies. It also highlights the importance of various repellents that are used for protection from different kinds of mosquito vectors. Finally, the book offers a comprehensive yet representative description of challenges associated with mosquito vector-borne diseases. The book is a useful resource for medical entomologists, health workers, and researchers working in mosquito-control and vector-borne diseases.

Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution. 1. Tenagodrilus musculus g.n., sp.n., a New Genus and Species of Lumbriculidae (Clitellata) from a Temporary Pond in Alabama, USA; M. Eckroth, R.O. Brinkhurst. 2. Kathrynella, a New Oligochaete Genus from Guyana; P. Omodeo. 3. Oligochaetes (Nididae, Tubificidae, Opistocystdae, Enchytraeidae, Sparganophilidae and Alluroididae) of Guyana; D.F. Stacey, K.A. Coates. 4. Species Separation and Identification in the Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta, Annelida): Combining Morphology and General Protein Pattern; R. Schmelz. Distribution, Abundance and Habitat Types. 5. Naidids and Other Oligochaetes of Italy; A. di Chiara Paoletti, Sambugar. 6. The Distribution of Oligochaeta on an Exposed Rocky Shore in South East Ireland; B. Healy. 7. Oligochaeta and Aphanoneura in Ancient Lakes: a Review; P. Martin. 8. Distribution Patterns of Aquatic Oligochaetes Inhabiting Watercourses in the North-Western Iberian Peninsula; E. Martinez-Ansemil, R. Collado. 9. The Influence of Water Movement on the Distribution of Oligochaetes; T.D. Slepukhina. 10. Oligochaeta of Lake Taimyr: a Preliminary Survey; T. Timm. 11. Influence of Grain Size on the Distribution of Tubificid Oligochaetes; G. Sauter, H. Gude. 12. Investigations of Oligochaete Community Structure in Different Habitats of a River Marsh Near Hamburg; R. Grimm. 13. Long-Term Changes in Oligochaete Communities in Lake Ladoga; T. Slepukhina. 14. Oligochaetes in the Southern Basin of the Venetian Lagoon: Community Composition, Species Abundance Biomass and Dispersion Pattern; S. Casellato. Population Dynamics. 15. Seasonal Dynamics of Aufwuchs Naididae (Oligochaeta) on Phragmites australis in a Eutrophic Lake; B. Lohlein. 16. Age, Stage and Size Structure as Population State Variables for Tubifex tubifex (Oligochaeta, Tubificidae); A. Pasteris, et al. 17. Oligochaete Species and their Biomass as a Source of Fish Food in Hungarian Rice Fields; A. Szito. 18. Intermediate Host Specificity of Caryophllaeus laticeps (Pallas) in Swedish Tubificid Oligochaetes and Population Dynamics of the Parasite in its Final Host the Bream, Abramis brama (L.) in Lake Malaren; G. Milbrink. 19. Energy Budget of Oligochaeta and its Connection with the Primary Production of a Reservoir; K. Jenderedjian. 20. Production and Population Dynamics of Tubifex tubifex in the Profundal Zone of a Freshwater Reservoir in N. Italy; C. Bonacina, et al. Pollution Studies. 21. Superficial and Hyporheic Communities as Indicators of Pollution and Water Exchange in the River Moselle (France); M. Lafont, et al. 22. Reversal of Eutrophication in Four Swiss Lakes; Evidence from Oligochaete Communities; C. Lang, O. Reymond. 23. A Comparison of Two Tubificid Oligochaete Species as Candidates for Sublethal Bioassay Tests Relevant to Subtropical and Tropical Regions; M. Marchese, R.O. Brinkhurst. 24. Oligochaetes in a Long Term Eutrophication Experiment; P.F.M. Verdonschot. Anthropogenic Impacts on Oligochaete Communities in the Mouth of the Neva; N.P. Finogenova. 26. Upstream and Downstream Movement of Macrofauna (with Special Referenc