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What are plant galls and how are they caused? This book introduces both the Australian native insects that induce galls on plants and the plant species that host them. It explores the ways the insects have adapted to living part of their lives in the confined spaces of galls, and describes the strategies employed by different insect groups to find a suitable site to induce a gall, obtain food, mate and escape the gall. Life in a Gall also looks at the predators, parasitoids, inquilines, kleptoparasites and micro-organisms that prey on gall-inducing insects and the ways the insects defend themselves from these enemies. It covers the problems gall-inducing insects can cause agriculture, forestry and horticulture and gives examples of several pest species. On the positive side, the book describes the essential services gall-inducing insects provide by pollinating figs, controlling invasive weeds and contributing to indigenous food. The final chapter provides tips for people who want to collect and study galls, and shows that answering many of the questions still surrounding gall-inducing insects is not restricted to professional scientists but can be achieved by diligent amateurs too.
The dominance of insects amongst all living organisms on earth, coupled with infinite wealth of knowledge so important for our own existence, is a fundamental scientific fact which is yet to be widely acknowledged. This dominance means that in numbers of species beyond our comprehension these animals permeate diverse and essential natural processes in Earth's terrestrial, aerial and freshwater ecosystems, contributing to the function of the natural world as a self-sustaining biological system. Invariably insects are an integral and complex part of the terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems with which the future of humans is inextricably linked. Insects have ultimately achieved a formidable di...
Every four years, the world’s entomological community gathers to share and debate the latest research and to discuss the challenges facing entomology. This book explores the 100-plus-year history of these meetings, offering a glimpse into the global collaborations and scientific achievements that drove entomology to where it is today and will be tomorrow. Journey across the continents and through this rich history, learning about the people that have helped shape this science and the ways the study of insects has evolved over the years.
This textbook helped to define the field of Behavioural Ecology. In this fourth edition the text has been completely revised, with new chapters and many new illustrations and full colour photographs. The theme, once again, is the influence of natural selection on behaviour – an animal's struggle to survive and reproduce by exploiting and competing for resources, avoiding predators, selecting mates and caring for offspring, – and how animal societies reflect both cooperation and conflict among individuals. Stuart A. West has joined as a co-author bringing his own perspectives and work on microbial systems into the book. Written in the same engaging and lucid style as the previous editions...
Insects represent over half of the planet’s biological diversity. This popular textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to this extraordinary diversity, and places entomology central to the theory and practice of evolutionary and ecological studies. Fully revised, this fifth edition opens with a chapter concerning the popular side of insect studies, including insects in citizen science, zoos and butterfly houses, and insects as food for humans and animals. Key features of insect structure, function, behaviour, ecology and classification are integrated with appropriate molecular studies. Much of the book is organized around major biological themes: living on the ground, in water, on p...
An overview of the pollination in Australian rainforests, especially subtropical rainforests. It also examines the plant-pollinator relationships found in rainforests worldwide.
Eyewitness Guides are the best-selling information books ever conceived, with a clearly written, fact-packed text and lavish photography
China to Chinatown tells the story of one of the most notable examples of the globalization of food: the spread of Chinese recipes, ingredients and cooking styles to the Western world. Beginning with the accounts of Marco Polo and Franciscan missionaries, J.A.G. Roberts describes how Westerners’ first impressions of Chinese food were decidedly mixed, with many regarding Chinese eating habits as repugnant. Chinese food was brought back to the West merely as a curiosity. The Western encounter with a wider variety of Chinese cuisine dates from the first half of the 20th century, when Chinese food spread to the West with emigrant communities. The author shows how Chinese cooking has come to be...