An understanding of the dynamics of populations is critically important to ecologists, evolutionary biologists, wildlife managers, foresters, and many other biologists. This edited treatise will bring together the latest research on how populations fluctuate in size, the factors that drive these changes, and the theories that explain how populations are regulated. Specific chapters dealing with insects of special economic importance are included.

Aimed primarily at advanced graduate students and professional biologists, this book explores the degree to which animal*b1plant interactions are determined by plant and animal variability. Many of the patterns seen in natural communities appear to result from cascading effects up as well as down the trophic system. Variability among primary producers can influence animal and plant population quality and dynamics, community structure, and the evolution of animal*b1plant interations.

To gain a more complete understanding of plant-based ecological community structure requires knowledge of the integration of direct and indirect effects in plant herbivore systems. Trait modification of plants as a result of herbivory is very common and widespread in terrestrial plants, and this initiates indirect interactions between organisms that utilise the same host plant. This book argues that food webs by themselves are inadequate models for understanding ecological communities, because they ignore important indirect, nontrophic links. This subject is of great importance in understanding not only community organisation but also in identifying the underlying mechanisms of maintenance of biodiversity in nature. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students interested in community and population ecology, evolutionary biology, biodiversity, botany and entomology.

This study of distribution, abundance and population size variation in animals (formerly regarded as pure ecological subjects) is presented in an evolutionary framework. Arguing that evolved characters of organisms such as morphology, behavior and life history influence their ecological relationships, this new conceptual framework is broadly relevant to ecologists, evolutionary biologists, behavioral scientists and entomologists.

To gain a more complete understanding of plant-based ecological community structure requires knowledge of the integration of direct and indirect effects in plant herbivore systems. Trait modification of plants as a result of herbivory is very common and widespread in terrestrial plants, and this initiates indirect interactions between organisms that utilise the same host plant. This 2007 book argues that food webs by themselves are inadequate models for understanding ecological communities, because they ignore important indirect, nontrophic links. This subject is of great importance in understanding not only community organisation but also in identifying the underlying mechanisms of maintenance of biodiversity in nature. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students interested in community and population ecology, evolutionary biology, biodiversity, botany and entomology.

Combining breadth of coverage with detail, this logical and cohesive introduction to insect ecology couples concepts with a broad range of examples and practical applications. It explores cutting-edge topics in the field, drawing on and highlighting the links between theory and the latest empirical studies. The sections are structured around a series of key topics, including behavioral ecology; species interactions; population ecology; food webs, communities and ecosystems; and broad patterns in nature. Chapters progress logically from the small scale to the large; from individual species through to species interactions, populations and communities. Application sections at the end of each chapter outline the practicality of ecological concepts and show how ecological information and concepts can be useful in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Each chapter ends with a summary, providing a brief recap, followed by a set of questions and discussion topics designed to encourage independent and creative thinking.

This study of distribution, abundance and population size variation in animals (formerly regarded as pure ecological subjects) is presented in an evolutionary framework. Arguing that evolved characters of organisms such as morphology, behavior and life history influence their ecological relationships, this new conceptual framework is broadly relevant to ecologists, evolutionary biologists, behavioral scientists and entomologists.

Combining breadth of coverage with detail, this logical and cohesive introduction to insect ecology couples concepts with a broad range of examples and practical applications. It explores cutting-edge topics in the field, drawing on and highlighting the links between theory and the latest empirical studies. The sections are structured around a series of key topics, including behavioral ecology; species interactions; population ecology; food webs, communities and ecosystems; and broad patterns in nature. Chapters progress logically from the small scale to the large; from individual species through to species interactions, populations and communities. Application sections at the end of each chapter outline the practicality of ecological concepts and show how ecological information and concepts can be useful in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Each chapter ends with a summary, providing a brief recap, followed by a set of questions and discussion topics designed to encourage independent and creative thinking.

In spite of the fact that parasites represent more than half of all living species of plants and animals, their role in the evolution of life on earth has been substantially underestimated. Here, for the first time within an evolutionary and ecological framework, Peter Price integrates the biological attributes that characterize parasites ranging from such diverse groups as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, to helminths, mites, insects, and parasitic flowering plants. Synthesizing systematics, ecology, behavioral biology, genetics, and biogeography, the author outlines the success of parasitism as a mode of life, the common features of the wide range of organisms that adopt such a way of life, the reasons for parasites' extraordinary potential for continued adaptive radiation, and their role in molding community structure by means of their impact on the evolution of host species. In demonstrating the importance of parasitic interactions for determining population patterns and geographical distributions, Dr. Price generates further discussion and suggests new areas for research.

This publication explores many facets of the ever intriguing and enigmatic relationships between plants and their gall-forming herbivores. The research reported herein ranges from studies on classical biology and systematics of galling to molecular phylogeny, population genetics, and ecological and evolutionary theory. Human kind has much to learn and gain from understanding the fine details of how plants and their gallers interact. This publication is the result of an international symposium that was held August, 1997 in Hungary. It was organized under the guidelines of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations by the Hungarian Forest Research Institute, Department of Forest Protection, and the North Central Research Station of the US Forest Service.