Ecology

From scorching, barren deserts to humid tropical forests, from deep in the soil, to high in the tree canopies, ants are everywhere! Comprising a substantial part of living biomass on earth, ants are integral to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. More than 12,000 species have been described to date, and it is estimated that perhaps as many still await classification. Their social structure provides a rich ground for exploring how division of labour affects the acquisition of resources, foraging and defensive behaviours, and coevolution with the flora and fauna with which they interact. The study of ants has led to significant advances in our understanding of insect evolution, global diversity patterns, competitive interactions, mutualisms, ecosystem's responses to change, and biological invasions. Ant Ecology explores these and other key ecological issues and new developments in myrmecology across a range of scales. The book begins with a global perspective on species diversity in time and space and explores interactions at the community level before describing the population ecology of these social insects. The final section covers the recent ecological phenomenon of invasive ants: how they move across the globe, invade, affect ecosystems, and are managed by humans. Each chapter links ant ecology to broader ecological principles, provides a succinct summary, and discusses future research directions. The Synthesis and Perspectives highlights contributions of ant ecology to ecology more broadly, and outlines promising areas for future research.

This book is a collection of nineteen chapters where summaries of major ecological and evolutionary questions have been asked and responded using dragonflies and damselflies as study subjects. Each chapter is written by a well-respected scientist. The topics covered are: demography, population and community ecology, life-history, distribution, abundance, migration, conservation, applied use, predator-prey interactions, mating isolation, lifetime reproductive success estimates, reproduction vs. survival, parasite-host relationships, cryptic female choice, sexual conflict, territoriality, sex-limited colour polymorphisms, sexual size dimorphism, flight performance, and wing evolution. Each chapter puts forward new data and hypothesis in relation to further ecological and evolutionary questions.

Hans Kruuk's previous Wild Otters was the first, and until now the only, book to cover both natural history and scientific research on behaviour and ecology of otters in Europe. The present book is a revision, rewrite, and update, now covering all species of otter in North America as well as Europe and elsewhere. Aimed at naturalists, scientists, and conservationists, in a personal style and with many illustrations, it describes the ecology and behaviour of some of the most charismatic and enigmatic mammals in our environment, as well as the research to understand their particular ecological problems. With over 650 references, there is up-to-date description of the most recent studies, including feeding ecology, foraging behaviour, relationships with prey species, and factors that limit populations, as well as social and breeding behaviour, molecular genetics, energetics, the problems of exposure to cold water, mortality, effects of pollution, and the serious, recent conservation problems. There are enchanting direct observations of the animals, as well as guidance about how and where to watch and study them, and what are the most serious questions facing researchers. From otters in the British and American lakes and rivers, to sea otters in the Pacific ocean, giant otters in the Amazon and other species in Africa and Asia, this book provides an enthusiastic, critical, and thorough approach to their fascinating existence, the science needed to understand it, and the threats to their survival.

Temperature pervasively impacts the phenotypes and distributions of organisms. These thermal effects generate strong selective pressures on behaviour, physiology, and life history when environmental temperatures vary over space and time. Despite this fact, progress toward a quantitative theory of thermal adaptation has lagged behind empirical descriptions of patterns and processes. This book draws on current evolutionary paradigms (optimization, quantitative genetics, and genetic algorithms) to establish a theory of thermal adaptation. It initially focuses on simple models that describe the evolution of thermosensitivity, thermoregulation, or acclimation. Later chapters focus on more complex models describing the coadaptation of traits or the coevolution of species. Throughout the book, various lines of evidence are used to question the major assumptions of these models. Furthermore, the predictions of these models are confronted with experimental and comparative data. Empirical examples represent a wide range of taxa, including bacteria, plants, fungi, and animals. The result is a synthesis of theoretical and empirical studies of thermal biology that offers insights about evolutionary processes.