Knowledge of insect movement, particularly of flight, is crucial to our understanding of the great ecological and evolutionary success of insects. The last 20 years have seen many advances in this subject area. New fields have arisen, such as metapopulation theory, and dramatic developments have taken place in methods of studying movement, as a result of new techniques in molecular biology and radar monitoring. There have also been advances in our knowledge of flight-related physiology and behaviour. This book, which is based on the main papers presented at the Royal Entomological Society's 20th Symposium held in September 1999, brings us up to date with these developments.It contains chapters on:flight mechanismsforaging movementsmigrationthe evolution of movement strategiesthe interactions between dispersal rates, population structure and gene flow the effects of climate change on geographical distributionIt is essential reading for entomologists, and of interest to those researching animal behaviour, physiology, ecology and genetics.

In this book I have tried to bring together the major developments in the study of insect populations in tropical environments. In some ways, this task has been a difficult one because conceptually it is virtually impossible to limit a discussion of insect ecology to the tropics, since the same concepts, theories, and hypoth eses concerning the mechanisms by which habitats support insect populations often apply both to temperate and to tropical regions. Thus one might argue effectively that a book such as Peter Price's Insect Ecology represents a more comprehensive treatment of insect ecology, including the tropical aspects. Yet because there has been a tremendous amount of new study on insects in the tropics in recent years, and because there has also been a strong historical interest in tropical insects, judging from early museum expeditions and medically and agriculturally oriented studies of insects in the New and Old World tropics, I believe there is a place for a book dealing almost exclusively with tropical insects. But logically so, such a book by necessity incorporates data and informa tion from Temperate Zone studies, if for no other reason than because insights into the properties of tropical environments often emerge from compariso'ns of species, communities, or faunas between temperate and tropical regions. An understanding of insect populations in the tropics cannot be divorced from a consideration of Temperate Zone populations.

The only book to deal comprehensively with insect feeding was published by C. T. Brues in 1946. His Insect Dietary was an account of insect feeding habits. Since that time there has been a revolution in biology, and almost all aspects of our understanding of insect feeding have expanded to an extent and into areas that would have been unthinkable in Brues' day. Yet, our book does not replace Insect Dietary but, instead, complements it, because our aim is to bring together information on the mechanisms by which food quality and quantity are regulated. We deliberately focus attention on the feeding process; to include food-finding would have required a much larger book and would have moved the focus away from more proximate mechanisms. This book is dedicated to the late Vincent G. Dethier. As a pioneer in studying the physiological basis of animal behavior, he focused on regulation of feeding in flies and caterpillars. His work on the blowfly, together with that by his many students and co-workers, still provides the most completely described mechanism of insect feeding. The citation of his work in almost every chapter in this book illustrates the importance of his findings and ideas to our current understanding of regulation of insect feeding. The authors in this book provide many innovative and stimulating ideas typifying Dethier's approach to the study of feeding be havior.

This new book is the first to make logical and important connections between trapping and foraging ecology. It develops and describes—both verbally and mathematically--the underlying principles that determine and define trap-organism interactions. More important, it goes on to explain and illustrate how these principles and relationships can be used to estimate absolute population densities in the landscape and to address an array of important problems relating to the use of trapping for detection, population estimation, and suppression in both research and applied contexts. The breakthrough nature of subject matter described has broad fundamental and applied implications for research for addressing important real-world problems in agriculture, ecology, public health and conservation biology. Monitoring traps baited with potent attractants of animals like insects have long played a critical role in revealing what pests are present and when they are active. However, pest managers have been laboring without the tools necessary for quick and inexpensive determination of absolute pest density, which is the cornerstone of pest management decisions. This book spans the gamut from highly theoretical and fundamental research to very practical applications that will be widely useful across all of agriculture.

Diatoms are single cell algae composed of silica. They represent one of the most outstanding natural materials with exceptional structural, mechanical, optical, photonic and chemical properties optimized through millions years of evolution. The unique nano and micro silica structures of the material combined with its availability as a low cost mineral from diatomaceous earth are attractive for solving many of today’s environmental, energy and health problems. Diatom Nanotechnology provides a comprehensive overview of the material and its uses. The first part of the book looks at the distinctive porous silica structure of diatoms, the mechanism of their formation and their properties. Individual chapters then explore the broad range of their applications in nanotechnology including nanofabrication, optical biosensors, gas sensors, water purifications, photonics, drug delivery, batteries, solar cells, supercapacitors, new adsorbents and composite materials. With contributions from leading international experts, the book represents an important resource for academics, researchers, industry professionals, postgraduate and advanced level undergraduate students providing them with the latest developments on this emerging and dynamic field.

The third edition of Insect Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach provides a modern perspective of insect ecology that integrates two approaches traditionally used to study insect ecology: evolutionary and ecosystem. This integration substantially broadens the scope of insect ecology and contributes to prediction and resolution of the effects of current environmental changes, as these affect and are affected by insects. The third edition includes an updated and expanded synthesis of feedback and interactions between insects and their environment. This updated material and a new chapter on applications of insect ecology to social and environmental issues effectively demonstrates how evolutionary and ecosystem approaches complement each other, with the intent of stimulating further integration of these approaches in experiments that address insect roles in ecosystems. Effective management of ecosystem resources depends on evaluation of the complex, often complementary, effects of insects on ecosystem conditions, as well as insect responses to changing conditions. - Timely revision of a key reference on insect ecology - Full coverage of ecosystem structure and function balanced with essential background on evolutionary aspects - New chapter on applications to issues such as pest management, ecosystem restoration, invasive species and environmental changes - Case studies highlight practical and theoretical applications for topics covered in each chapter