In Butterfly Biology Systems Roger Dennis explores key topics and contentious issues in butterfly biology, specifically those in life history and behaviour. Uniquely, using a systems approach, the book focuses on the degree of integration and feedback between components and elements affecting each issue, as well as the links between different issues. The book comprises four sections. The first two sections introduce the reader to principles and approaches for investigating complex relationships, and provide a platform of knowledge on butterfly biology. The final two sections deal in turn with life history and behaviour, covering key issues affecting different stages of development from eggs to adults.
In Butterflies: Ecology and Evolution Taking Flight, the world's leading experts synthesize current knowledge of butterflies to show how the study of these fascinating creatures as model systems can lead to deeper understanding of ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes in general. The twenty-six chapters are organized into broad functional areas, covering the uses of butterflies in the study of behavior, ecology, genetics and evolution, systematics, and conservation biology. Especially in the context of the current biodiversity crisis, this book shows how results found with butterflies can help us understand large, rapid changes in the world we share with them—for example, geographic distributions of some butterflies have begun to shift in response to global warming, giving early evidence of climate change that scientists, politicians, and citizens alike should heed. The first international synthesis of butterfly biology in two decades, Butterflies: Ecology and Evolution Taking Flight offers students, scientists, and amateur naturalists a concise overview of the latest developments in the field. Furthermore, it articulates an exciting new perspective of the whole group of approximately 15,000 species of butterflies as a comprehensive model system for all the sciences concerned with biodiversity and its preservation. Contributors: Carol L. Boggs, Paul M. Brakefield, Adriana D. Briscoe, Dana L. Campbell, Elizabeth E. Crone, Mark Deering, Henri Descimon, Erika I. Deinert, Paul R. Ehrlich, John P. Fay, Richard ffrench-Constant, Sherri Fownes, Lawrence E. Gilbert, André Gilles, Ilkka Hanski, Jane K. Hill, Brian Huntley, Niklas Janz, Greg Kareofelas, Nusha Keyghobadi, P. Bernhard Koch, Claire Kremen, David C. Lees, Jean-François Martin, Antónia Monteiro, Paulo César Motta, Camille Parmesan, William D. Patterson, Naomi E. Pierce, Robert A. Raguso, Charles Lee Remington, Jens Roland, Ronald L. Rutowski, Cheryl B. Schultz, J. Mark Scriber, Arthur M. Shapiro, Michael C. Singer, Felix Sperling, Curtis Strobeck, Aram Stump, Chris D. Thomas, Richard VanBuskirk, Hans Van Dyck, Richard I. Vane-Wright, Ward B. Watt, Christer Wiklund, and Mark A. Willis
The fascinating and complex evolutionary relationship of the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant Monarch butterflies are one of nature's most recognizable creatures, known for their bright colors and epic annual migration from the United States and Canada to Mexico. Yet there is much more to the monarch than its distinctive presence and mythic journeying. In Monarchs and Milkweed, Anurag Agrawal presents a vivid investigation into how the monarch butterfly has evolved closely alongside the milkweed—a toxic plant named for the sticky white substance emitted when its leaves are damaged—and how this inextricable and intimate relationship has been like an arms race over the millennia, a battle of exploitation and defense between two fascinating species. The monarch life cycle begins each spring when it deposits eggs on milkweed leaves. But this dependency of monarchs on milkweeds as food is not reciprocated, and milkweeds do all they can to poison or thwart the young monarchs. Agrawal delves into major scientific discoveries, including his own pioneering research, and traces how plant poisons have not only shaped monarch-milkweed interactions but have also been culturally important for centuries. Agrawal presents current ideas regarding the recent decline in monarch populations, including habitat destruction, increased winter storms, and lack of milkweed—the last one a theory that the author rejects. He evaluates the current sustainability of monarchs and reveals a novel explanation for their plummeting numbers. Lavishly illustrated with more than eighty color photos and images, Monarchs and Milkweed takes readers on an unforgettable exploration of one of nature's most important and sophisticated evolutionary relationships.
Monarch butterflies are among the most popular insect species in the world and are an icon for conservation groups and environmental education programs. Monarch caterpillars and adults are easily recognizable as welcome visitors to gardens in North America and beyond, and their spectacular migration in eastern North America (from breeding locations in Canada and the United States to overwintering sites in Mexico) has captured the imagination of the public. Monarch migration, behavior, and chemical ecology have been studied for decades. Yet many aspects of monarch biology have come to light in only the past few years. These aspects include questions regarding large-scale trends in monarch population sizes, monarch interactions with pathogens and insect predators, and monarch molecular genetics and large-scale evolution. A growing number of current research findings build on the observations of citizen scientists, who monitor monarch migration, reproduction, survival, and disease. Monarchs face new threats from humans as they navigate a changing landscape marked by deforestation, pesticides, genetically modified crops, and a changing climate, all of which place the future of monarchs and their amazing migration in peril. To meet the demand for a timely synthesis of monarch biology, conservation and outreach, Monarchs in a Changing World summarizes recent developments in scientific research, highlights challenges and responses to threats to monarch conservation, and showcases the many ways that monarchs are used in citizen science programs, outreach, and education. It examines issues pertaining to the eastern and western North American migratory populations, as well as to monarchs in South America, the Pacific and Caribbean Islands, and Europe. The target audience includes entomologists, population biologists, conservation policymakers, and K–12 teachers.
A guide to creating habitats suitable for butterflies offers advice on growing host and nectar plants, building nets and cages, and caring for and feeding butterflies, and provides identification clues for various species.
Butterfly wing color patterns may indicate sex or distastefulness, may mimic other organisms, may act as camouflage, or they may confuse predators. Most species may be identified by their color patterns alone. Furthermore, the dorsal and ventral patterns may be very different and each has evolved separately. These patterns are not random but are homologous units which can be identified in all species. The patterns are permutations of the nymphalid ground plan. This book describes the elucidation of these homologies based on comparative morphology, genetics, and theoretical modelling. The book is supplemented by line-drawings, diagrams, photographs, charts, tables, graphs, three appendices: "Classification and systematics of the Butterflies", "Higher Classification of the Nymphalidae", and a list of genera in the figures in chapter 2 ("Pattern Elements and Homologies"), a bibliography and an index.--BIOSIS.
BIOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF LIFE Life is everywhere, thriving in the city and in the country, teeming in ecosystems around the planet—in deserts, oceans, and even the Arctic. And life is right outside your door! Backyard Biology invites children ages 9 and up to investigate living things—especially in yards, parks, nature areas, and playgrounds. Trivia and fun facts bring animals, plants, and microorganisms to life, in all their wonder. Readers become Nature Detectives with activities and projects that encourage children to make discoveries. Children will construct a plankton net to collect pond samples, and they’ll grow microorganisms in a Winogradsky Column. They’ll discover what mystery plants sprout from collected soil samples and build a rolypoly habitat. When children experiment with phototropism and geotropism, they'll discover the ways plants move. In Backyard Biology, children will scout out different habitats to observe and investigate—and do their part to protect them.
Due to the attractiveness of butterflies, and their usefulness as model systems for biological questions, there has been a considerable amount of material written on butterfly biology, largely in Europe. This book synthesizes all relevant and recent knowledge in the field, which is a must for those making use of this taxonomic group as a model system. It is divided into five major parts which deal with habitat use, population ecology and genetics, evolutionary ecology, distribution and phylogeny, and global change and conservation. There are growing numbers of scientific projects and networks in Europe in which the use of butterflies as tools and targets for conservation is central, and application of knowledge is closely related to European cultural landscapes. However, the chapters can also be applied to a wide geographic scope. Written by an international team of experts, this timely book is suitable for students, researchers and enthusiasts.
Numerous and charismatic, the Lepidoptera is one of the most widely studied groups of invertebrates. Advances in molecular tools and genomic techniques have reduced the need for large sizes and mass-rearing, and lepidopteran model systems are increasingly used to illuminate broad-based experimental questions as well as those peculiar to butterflies. Putting the spotlight on the second most numerous order of insects living today, this book provides a summary of cutting-edge studies of the Lepidoptera as an organism in and of itself and as model systems. Leading researchers discuss symbiosis, genomes, sex determination, natural products, ecophysiology, sensory systems, pest control, the sterile insect technique, immunity, and evolution development. Understanding the biology and genetics of butterflies and moths may lead to new species-selective methods of control, saving billions of dollars in pesticide use and protecting environmental and human health, making the sections on pest control and the sterile insect technique extremely important.
Insects display a staggering diversity of mating and social behaviours. Studying these systems provides insights into a wide range of evolutionary and behavioural questions, such as the evolution of sex, sexual selection, sexual conflict, and parental care. This edited volume provides an authoritative update of the landmark book in the field, The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems (Thornhill and Alcock, 1983), which had such a huge impact in shaping adaptationist approaches to the study of animal behaviour and influencing the study of the evolution of reproductive behaviour far beyond the taxonomic remit of insects. This accessible new volume brings the empirical and conceptual scope of the original book fully up to date, incorporating the wealth of new knowledge and research of the last 30 years. It explores the evolution of complex forms of sex determination in insects, and the role of sexual selection in shaping the evolution of mating systems. Selection arising via male contest competition and female choice (both before and after copulation) are discussed, as are the roles of parasites and pathogens in mediating the strength of sexual selection, and the role that parental care plays in successful reproduction. The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems is suitable for both graduate students and researchers interested in insect mating systems or behaviour from an evolutionary, genetical, physiological, or ecological perspective. Due to its interdisciplinary and concept-driven approach, it will also be of relevance and use to a broad audience of evolutionary biologists.
