Insect Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach

Insect Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach, Fourth Edition, follows a hierarchical organization that begins with relatively easy-to-understand chapters on adaptive responses of insect populations to various environmental changes, disturbances, and anthropogenic activities, how insects find food and habitat resources, and how insects allocate available energy and nutrients.

Chapters build on fundamental information to show how insect populations respond to changing environmental conditions, including spatial and temporal distribution of food and habitat. The next section integrates populations of interacting species within communities and how these interactions determine structure of communities over time and space.

Other works in insect ecology stop there, essentially limiting presentation of insect ecology to evolutionary responses of insects to their environment, including the activities of other species. The unique aspect of this book is its four chapters on ecosystem structure and function, and how herbivores, pollinators, seed predators, and detritivores drive ecosystem dynamics and contribute to ecosystem stability.

Provides the most advanced synthesis of insect ecology, with updated material throughout and new chaptersPresents the roles of insects in delivery of ecosystem services and applications to pest management and conservationFeatures full coverage of ecosystem structure and function balanced with essential background on evolutionary aspectsIncludes case studies highlighting practical and theoretical applications for topics covered in each chapter

1. Overview

Section I: Ecology of individual insects 2. Responses to Abiotic Conditions 3. Resource Acquisition 4. Resource Allocation

Section II: Population ecology 5. Population Systems 6. Population Dynamics 7. Biogeography

Section III: Community ecology 8. Species Interactions 9. Community Structure 10. Community Dynamics

Section IV: Ecosystem level 11. Ecosystem Structure and Function 12. Herbivory 13. Pollination, Seed Predation, and Seed Dispersal 14. Decomposition and Pedogenesis 15. Insects as Regulators of Ecosystem Processes

Section V: Applications and synthesis 16. Application to Sustainability of Ecosystem Services 17. Management of Insect Populations 18. Summary and Synthesis