This second edition covers the evolution of aphids and their development in relation to specific plants, thoroughly revised and expanded since the first highly successful edition. Increasing knowledge of aphids has revealed that they are ideal organisms to use when studying many topical ecological issues.

Most people know of aphids as garden pests, infesting the soft green tissues of plants in vast numbers and killing them by sucking out the sap. Indeed, among the 4000 or so known species of aphids about 250 are pests, and in temperate regions several are economically important agricultural pests that damage crops directly during feeding or act as v

Aphids are among the major global pest groups, causing serious economic damage to many food and commodity crops in most parts of the world. This revision and update of the well-received first edition published ten years ago reflects the expansion of research in genomics, endosymbionts and semiochemicals, as well as the shift from control of aphids with insecticides to a more integrated approach imposed by increasing resistance in the aphids and government restrictions on pesticides. The book remains a comprehensive and up-to-date reference work on the biology of aphids, the various methods of controlling them and the progress of integrated pest management as illustrated by ten case histories.

This book presents the results of recent research on aphid population dynamics and ecology relevant to current environmental changes resulting from global wa- ing. It incorporates a selection of the contributions presented at the International Symposium on Aphids in Fremantle, Australia, in October 2005, plus some ad- tional invited chapters. The objective was to incorporate the major issues in the ?eld and simultaneously create a closely interrelated and integrated volume. The ?rst chapter sets the scene. Kindlmann and Dixon present a critical review of existing models of aphid population dynamics, examine the biological assumptions that are incorporated in the models and present one of the latest models of aphid metapopulation dynamics. They conclude that natural enemies are unlikely to affect aphid population dynamics late in a season, but in some years may have an effect very early in the season, when aphid colonies are still small and predators might be able to reduce the numbers of colonies. The question, whether aphids will move to different locations, adapt to the change in conditions in their current habitat or go extinct is discussed by Ameixa. She concludes that the distributions of aphids are most likely to change, with the distribution of each species moving globally as their preferred habitat moves in response to changes in the climate, which may be more dif?cult than in the past because of habitat fragmentation and habitat loss.

Host selection; Size in aphids; Polymorphism; Cyclical parthenogenesis; Life-history patterns; Dispersal; Population dinamics; Community structure and species diversity; Epilogue.

Aphids and their colonies are excellent arenas in which to observe predators in action. A range of insects come to eat or parasitise the aphids or to drink their honeydew. 9781784275105 and 9781784275167 are digital reprints of 9780855462697 (1989).

Considered as economically significant pests with worldwide distribution, aphids feed on hundreds of cultivated and ornamental plants and cause considerable economic loss on a global scale. The peach-potato aphid, Myzus persicae, is one of the most severe model aphid pests and successfully colonizes hundreds of plant species from 40 different families. It is a complex aphid pest known for its high reproductive rate, biotype formation, suppression of plant defenses, and wide range of host plants. This book covers ecological aspects - including life cycle, damage, and host range - which make aphids an economically important pest. A wide range of topics are covered, including ecological aspects of M. persicae; challenges with management approaches; damage; suppression of plant defenses; evolution; the mechanism of resistance against major classes of insecticides; the potential of biological control and natural plant-derived compounds (plant defense elicitors) as an alternative to the use of synthetic chemical insecticides to control M. persicae; and integrated pest management for M. persicae. As the peach-potato aphid is a model aphid pest, studying it helps to develop control strategies against the entire group of aphids. Written for professionals, as well as students, teachers, and researchers in the fields of entomology, ecology, and bioscience, this book is an enriching new addition to its field.

Dispersal has become central to many questions in theoretical and applied ecology in recent years. In this volume a team of leading ecologists aim to provide the advanced student and researcher with a comprehensive review of dispersal and its implications for modern ecology.

The concepts and concerns regarding the global effects of a continued increase in the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have enjoyed a high visibility in newspapers and scientific journals. This concern is now being translated into big-science projects. These international projects aim to understand better the processes of climate and ecosystem changes and impacts and are being designed under the aegis of the World Climate Research Programme and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Biological and climatic systems are intertwined in processes leading to impacts and feedbacks and so it has emerged that climatologists, atmospheric scientists, terrestrial and marine ecologists must collaborate in research programmes, else the bases of their future projections are incomplete. This special volume of Advances in Ecological Research brings together eight papers which propose and demonstrate the two major components of current climate change research, future prediction and interdisciplinary approach.

Darwin famously described special difficulties in explaining social evolution in insects. More than a century later, the evolution of sociality - defined broadly as cooperative group living - remains one of the most intriguing problems in biology. Providing a unique perspective on the study of social evolution, this volume synthesizes the features of animal social life across the principle taxonomic groups in which sociality has evolved. The chapters explore sociality in a range of species, from ants to primates, highlighting key natural and life history data and providing a comparative view across animal societies. In establishing a single framework for a common, trait-based approach towards social synthesis, this volume will enable graduate students and investigators new to the field to systematically compare taxonomic groups and reinvigorate comparative approaches to studying animal social evolution.