Ant-Plant Interactions - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198546394 ISBN 13: 9780198546399

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1991

Synopsis

This book presents current research on all types of ant-plant interactions, and concentrates on understanding these often complex relationships in evolutionary and ecological terms. The range of interactions varies from herbivory (leaf-cutter ants) to complex symbiosis. Many ants prey on plant pests, thus protecting the plant from harm, receiving in exchange nectar and/or nest sites. In some cases the ants tend and protect other insects such as butterfly larvae or Homopterans (which include the aphids and cicadas) which may benefit the ants at the expense of both the host plant and the other insects. Some ants are known to be seed dispersers, and in at least one plant (cocoa) they appear to affect rates of pollination. A significant proportion of these interactions exhibit a high degree of mutualism, making this book part of a growing literature on the ecological determinants of mutualistic behaviour. The thirty-seven chapters by more than fifty contributors range in geographical coverage from northern and southern temperate zones, to the New World tropics, to Australia and South-east Asia. The emphasis throughout, even in the more descriptive chapters, is on possible explanations for observed phenomena. Workers in ecology, evolution, and behavior will welcome this compendium of information on a subject that has become a modern testing ground for evolutionary ecology.

About this title

Review

`It presents an impressive amount of information on most aspects of this prolific field of study and it will be a valuable benchmark source for this topic. `The book has a uniform and authoritative feel to it for which the editors are to be congratulated. This is a conference volume but in the best tradition of that genre, and it is strongly recommended.'Annals of Botany 'to any forester with an interest in and a basic knowledge of woodland ant biology several of the articles provide a fascinating insight into the latest developments in the field' W.H. Parry, Forestry, Vol. 65, No. 3, 1992 'contains important reviews and research papers covering topics from leaf-cutter ants, ant-pollination, seed dispersal and extrafloral nectaries, to plants which provide a rest site and complete diet for symbiotic ants ... Also new techniques are described for the analysis of mutualistic co-evolution.' Ethology, Ecology & Evolution 4: 1992

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198546394
• ISBN 13: 9780198546399
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 620
• Editor: Huxley Camilla R., Cutler David F.