Ecology of Insects: Concepts and Applications, 2nd ed.

Abstract

M.R. Speight, M.D. Hunter, A.D. Watt Ecology of Insects: Concepts and Applications 2 2008 Wiley-Blackwell Hoboken, NJ 628 078-1-4051-3114-8 $89.00 (soft) Insect ecology is a specialized field inside a larger discipline of ecology. Most graduate programs in entomology have requirements for course work in insect ecology. Up-to-date text books are needed. While this sounds fairly straight forward, it is not. There are many specialized areas in insect ecology such as physiological ecology, evolutionary ecology, behavioral ecology, ecosystem ecology, and population ecology. In addition, there are closely related areas like chemical ecology, insect-plant interactions, and insect conservation. Thus, putting together a textbook for an entry level graduate insect ecology course is a tall order, but the authors have done just that in the revised Ecology of Insects: Concepts and Applications , 2nd ed. Much has happened in insect ecology since the original edition of Speight et al. was released in 1999, and the authors have comprehensively revised Ecology of Insects , adding two additional chapters to accommodate the evolving field of insect ecology. The chapter on physiological ecology is completely new. Chapter 8 in the first edition was titled Biodiversity and Conservation but has been separated into two chapters in the second edition. Other chapters have each been updated …