Larvae of the North American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera)
Larvae of the North American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera)

Author: Glenn B. Wiggins

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 1996-12-15

Total Pages: 501

ISBN-13: 1442656182

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Caddisflies are one of the most diverse groups of organisms living in freshwater habitats, and their larvae are involved in energy transfer at several levels within these communities. Caddisfly larvae are also remarkable because of the exquisite food-catching nets and portable cases they construct with silk and selected pieces of plant and rock materials. This book is the most comprehensive existing reference on the aquatic larval stages of the 149 Nearctic genera of Trichoptera, comprising more than 1400 species in North America. The book is invaluable for freshwater biologists and ecologists in identifying caddisfly in the communities they study, for students of aquatic biology as a guide to the diverse fauna of freshwater habitats, and for systematic entomologists as an atlas of the larval morphology of Trichoptera. In the General Section, the biology of caddisfly larvae is considered from an evolutionary point of view. Morphological terms are discussed and illustrated and a classification of the Nearctic genera is given. Techniques are outlined for collecting and preserving larval specimens and for associating larval with adult stages. The Systematic Section begins with a key to larvae of the 26 families of North American Trichoptera. Each chapter in this section is devoted to a particular family, providing a summary of biological features and a key to genera, followed by a two-page outline for each genus with illustrations facing text. This outline provides information on general distribution, number of species, distinctive morphological features, and biological data including construction behaviour. An important feature of the book is the habit illustrations of larvae and cases of a selected species in each genus, along with illustrations of details of significant morphological structures. Each generic type is thus presented as a recognizable whole organism adapted in elegant ways to particular niches of freshwater communities. This revised edition includes advances in knowledge on the classification and biology of Trichoptera up to 1993 - an interval of 17 years since the first edition. An additional eight families and thirteen genera are included for the first time. Through reorganization of the families into three suborders, a biological context has been established for the systematic section.

The Caddisfly Family Phryganeidae (Trichoptera)
The Caddisfly Family Phryganeidae (Trichoptera)

Author: Glenn B. Wiggins

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9780802042415

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This book is an outstanding example of the museum tradition, offering the results of global research on the biosystematics of one of the families of case-making caddisflies, the Phryganeidae.

Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates
Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates

Author: James H. Thorp

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2001-05-11

Total Pages: 1073

ISBN-13: 0080530672

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The First Edition of Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates has been immensely popular with students and researchers interested in freshwater biology and ecology, limnology, environmental science, invertebrate zoology, and related fields. The First Edition has been widely used as a textbook and this Second Edition should continue to serve students in advanced classes. The Second Edition features expanded and updated chapters, especially with respect to the cited references and the classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. New chapters or substantially revised chapters include those on freshwater ecosystems, snails, aquatic spiders, aquatic insects, and crustaceans. - Most up-to-date and informative text of its kind - Written by experts in the ecology of various invertebrate groups, coverage emphasizes ecological information within a current taxonomic framework - Each chapter contains both morphological and taxonomic information, including keys to North American taxa (usually to the generic level) as well as bibliographic information and a list of further readings - The text is geared toward researchers and advanced undergraduate and graduate students

The Caddisfly Family Phryganeidae (Trichoptera)
The Caddisfly Family Phryganeidae (Trichoptera)

Author: Glenn B. Wiggins

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 1998-12-15

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 1442656190

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The goal of much of the scientific work in natural history museums is to explore and document the biological diversity of the planet. This book is an outstanding example of the museum tradition, offering the results of global research on the biosystematics of one of the families of case-making caddisflies, the Phryganeidae. Throughout his career as a museum curator, Glenn Wiggins has studied and written extensively on caddisflies of the aquatic insect order Trichoptera. Information acquired from field work and museum collections, and from the biological literature is synthesized into a taxonomic monograph. The Phryganeidae are the largest of all the caddisflies, but existing literature has led to problems in species identification, especially in Asia; nine species names were found to be synonyms of others, an unsually high proportion of 10 per cent of the described species. Fifteen genera comprising seventy-four species are recognized here, including three that are new to science. Generic keys are provided for adults, larvae, and pupae; keys to species are given for adults. Morphological structures used in the keys are fully illustrated in 246 line drawings and half-tone plates. Distribution maps are provided for most of the North American species. Hypotheses are inferred for the phylogeny of the genera, and for the species in each genus; the fossil history of the Phryganeidae is reviewed. From this base, the biogeography of the family is interpreted. Of evolutionary interest is an extraordinary relationship between larval case-making and pupation behaviour and the degradation of functional pupal mandibles. Contrasting colour patterns of the wings in some species of the Phryganeidae are interpreted for the first time in the Trichoptera as part of a protective warning system to deter predators. Variation in genitalic morphology far exceeding normal species limits is documented in two species, and the evolutionary implications are considered. Combined with fossil evidence that the Phryganeidae are the oldest of the case-making Trichoptera still extant, several of the atypical morphological and behavioural attributes discussed in this book can be interpreted as plesiomorphic, placing the Phryganeidae in a pivotal position for inferring phylogeny in the Trichoptera. A revised classification embodying much new information is proposed for the family Phryganeidae. The taxonomy, biology, and evolution of no other family of caddisflies has been treated as extensively.

Caddisflies
Caddisflies

Author: Glenn B. Wiggins

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2005-12-15

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 1442656174

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Caddisflies constitute the insect order Trichoptera in which some 10,000 species are known in the world, including about 1400 in North America. Fossil evidence shows that caddisflies originated in the Triassic period, 200-250 million years ago. They are important links in the movement of energy and nutrients through freshwater ecosystems due largely to the extraordinary diversification in their larval architecture, which includes portable and stationary shelters, silken filter nets, and osmotically semipermeable cocoons. Glenn Wiggins's Caddisflies is the foremost comprehensive reference source about these insects and is concerned with behavioural ecology, evolutionary history, biogeography, and biological diversity. Wiggins outlines fundamental concepts of aquatic ecology, illuminating the ways in which caddisflies help to make fresh waters work. Essential features of morphology, biology, and distribution are outlined for the twenty-six North American families of caddisflies and illustrated diagnostic keys are provided for larvae, pupae, and adults. The author also brings together information on caddisflies from widely scattered sources and provides comprehensive coverage of the scientific literature.