Insect Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach

Schowalter, Timothy D.

ISBN 10: 0126289751 ISBN 13: 9780126289756

Publisher: Academic Press, 2000

Synopsis

Insects are the most diverse and dominant group of organisms on Earth. They are highly sensitive to environmental changes and are capable of responding dramatically by engineering further changes in ecosystem structure and function. Their capacity to respond dramatically to environmental gradients often brings them into conflict with our resource management goals. Insects are also potentially useful indicators of impending environmental changes. Insect Ecology integrates the traditional emphasis on insect diversity, life history adaptations, and species interactions with insects roles in ecosystems subject to environmental changes.

Key Features
* Integrates individual, population, community, and ecosystem levels of ecological resolution
* Illustrates the relationship of insect ecology to disturbance dynamics and environmental change
* Relates metapopulation dynamics to ecosystem structure and function
* Demonstrates the ability of insect functional groups to affect ecosystem and global processes, such as primary production, biogeochemical cycling, and carbon flux
* Provides a context for evolution as feedback between community modification of ecosystem conditions and selection of individual attributes that regulate ecosystem conditions

About this title

About the Author

Timothy D. Schowalter received his Ph.D. degree in Entomology from the University of Georgia in 1979. Since 1981, he has been a professor of entomology at Oregon State University, Corvallis, studying the effects of environmental changes, including natural and anthropogenic disturbances, on arthropod communities in temperate and tropical ecosystems, and effects of herbivores and detritivores on primary production, carbon flux, biogeochemical cycling. From 1992-93, he served as Program Director for Integrative and Theoretical Ecology at the National Science Foundation, where he was involved in developing global change and terrestrial ecosystem research initiatives at the federal level. He served as a U.S. delegate to international conventions to develop collaboration between U.S. Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and long term sites in Hungary and East Asia and the Pacific.

From the Back Cover

Insects are exceptionally diverse and their biomass can sometimes exceed that of more conspicuous animals. Although sensitive to environmental change, insects can control key ecosystem processes, such as primary production, succession, energy flux, and biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Even though insects often interfere with our resource management goals, they are useful indicators of subtle environmental change. Insect Ecology addresses these myriad aspects of insect-environment interactions and reviews multiple levels of ecological hierarchy, from individual insects in local environments to insect communities that have the capacity to modify and perhaps stabilize ecosystem conditions. Certain to be of interest to entomologists and ecologists, Insect Ecology will also appeal to anyone with an interest in ecosystem structure and function.
Key Features
* Integrates individual, population, community, and ecosystem levels of ecological resolution
* Illustrates the relationship of insect ecology to disturbance dynamics and environmental change
* Relates metapopulation dynamics to ecosystem structure and function
* Demonstrates the ability of insect functional groups to affect ecosystem and global processes, such as primary production, biogeochemical cycling, and carbon flux
* Provides a context for evolution as feedback between community modification of ecosystem conditions and selection of individual attributes that regulate ecosystem conditions

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0126289751
• ISBN 13: 9780126289756
• Binding: Audio Cassette