Download or read book Herdsmen Ants and Their Mealybug Partners written by Martin Dill and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Superorganism written by Bert Holldobler and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2009 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of "The Ants" render the extraordinary lives of the social insects--ants, bees, wasps, and termites--in this visually spectacular volume. 110 color and 100 black-and-white illustrations.
Download or read book Army Ants written by Daniel J. C. Kronauer and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Daniel J. C. Kronauer brings to life the research surrounding army ants, nature's preeminent social hunters. Without central coordination, army ants march in columns by the thousands and build nests and bridges using their own bodies. They also play a crucial role in promoting and sustaining the biodiversity of tropical ecosystems.
Download or read book Mutualisms and Insect Conservation written by Tim R. New and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-07-10 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Documenting and understanding intricate ecological interactions involving insects is a central need in conservation, and the specialised and specific nature of many such associations is displayed in this book. Their importance is exemplified in a broad global overview of a major category of interactions, mutualisms, in which the interdependence of species is essential for their mutual wellbeing. The subtleties that sustain many mutualistic relationships are still poorly understood by ecologists and conservation managers alike. Examples from many parts of the world and ecological regimes demonstrate the variety of mutualisms between insect taxa, and between insects and plants, in particular, and their significance in planning and undertaking insect conservation – of both individual species and the wider contexts on which they depend. Several taxonomic groups, notably ants, lycaenid butterflies and sucking bugs, help to demonstrate the evolution and flexibility of mutualistic interactions, whilst fundamental processes such as pollination emphasise the central roles of, often, highly specific partnerships. This compilation brings together a wide range of relevant cases and contexts, with implications for practical insect conservation and increasing awareness of the roles of co-adaptations of behaviour and ecology as adjuncts to designing optimal conservation plans. The three major themes deal with the meanings and mechanisms of mutualisms, the classic mutualisms that involve insect partners, and the environmental and conservation lessons that flow from these and have potential to facilitate and improve insect conservation practice. The broader ecological perspective advances the transition from primary focus on single species toward consequently enhancing wider ecological contexts in which insect diversity can thrive.
Download or read book Adventures among Ants written by Mark W. Moffett and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010-05-05 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intrepid international explorer, biologist, and photographer Mark W. Moffett, "the Indiana Jones of entomology," takes us around the globe on a strange and colorful journey in search of the hidden world of ants. In tales from Nigeria, Indonesia, the Amazon, Australia, California, and elsewhere, Moffett recounts his entomological exploits and provides fascinating details on how ants live and how they dominate their ecosystems through strikingly human behaviors, yet at a different scale and a faster tempo. Moffett’s spectacular close-up photographs shrink us down to size, so that we can observe ants in familiar roles; warriors, builders, big-game hunters, and slave owners. We find them creating marketplaces and assembly lines and dealing with issues we think of as uniquely human—including hygiene, recycling, and warfare. Adventures among Ants introduces some of the world’s most awe-inspiring species and offers a startling new perspective on the limits of our own perception. • Ants are world-class road builders, handling traffic problems on thoroughfares that dwarf our highway systems in their complexity • Ants with the largest societies often deploy complicated military tactics • Some ants have evolved from hunter-gatherers into farmers, domesticating other insects and growing crops for food
Download or read book The Social Conquest of Earth written by Edward O. Wilson and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2012-04-09 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Book of the Year (Nonfiction) Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence (Nonfiction) From the most celebrated heir to Darwin comes a groundbreaking book on evolution, the summa work of Edward O. Wilson's legendary career. Sparking vigorous debate in the sciences, The Social Conquest of Earth upends “the famous theory that evolution naturally encourages creatures to put family first” (Discover). Refashioning the story of human evolution, Wilson draws on his remarkable knowledge of biology and social behavior to demonstrate that group selection, not kin selection, is the premier driving force of human evolution. In a work that James D. Watson calls “a monumental exploration of the biological origins of the human condition,” Wilson explains how our innate drive to belong to a group is both a “great blessing and a terrible curse” (Smithsonian). Demonstrating that the sources of morality, religion, and the creative arts are fundamentally biological in nature, the renowned Harvard University biologist presents us with the clearest explanation ever produced as to the origin of the human condition and why it resulted in our domination of the Earth’s biosphere.
Download or read book The Ecology of Tropical East Asia written by Richard T. Corlett and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tropical East Asia is home to over one billion people and faces massive human impacts from its rising population and rapid economic growth. It has already lost more than two-thirds of its forest cover and has the highest rates of deforestation and logging in the tropics. Hunting, coupled with the relentless trade in wildlife products, threatens all its large and many of its smaller vertebrates. Despite these problems, the region still supports an estimated 15-25% of global terrestrial biodiversity and is therefore a key area for conservation. Effective conservation action depends on a clear understanding of the ecological patterns and processes in the region. The first edition of The Ecology of Tropical East Asia was the first book to describe the terrestrial ecology of the entire East Asian tropics and subtropics, from southern China to western Indonesia. This second edition updates the contents and extends the coverage to include the very similar ecosystems of northeast India and Bhutan. The book deals with plants, animals, and the ecosystems they inhabit, as well as the diverse threats to their survival and the options for conservation. It provides the background knowledge of the region's ecology needed by both specialists and non-specialists to put their own work into a broader context. The accessible style, comprehensive coverage, and engaging illustrations make this advanced textbook an essential read for senior undergraduate and graduate level students studying the terrestrial ecology of the East Asian tropics, as well as an authoritative reference for professional ecologists, conservationists, and interested amateurs worldwide.
Download or read book The Aphroditoidea Annelida Polychaeta of the Mediterranean Sea written by Ruth Barnich and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ornatocephalus Metzleri Gen Et Spec Nov Lacertilia Scincoidea written by Sinje Weber and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Convergent Evolution of Agriculture in Humans and Insects written by Ted R Schultz and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-02-15 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contributors explore common elements in the evolutionary histories of both human and insect agriculture resulting from convergent evolution. During the past 12,000 years, agriculture originated in humans as many as twenty-three times, and during the past 65 million years, agriculture also originated in nonhuman animals at least twenty times and in insects at least fifteen times. It is much more likely that these independent origins represent similar solutions to the challenge of growing food than that they are due purely to chance. This volume seeks to identify common elements in the evolutionary histories of both human and insect agriculture that are the results of convergent evolution. The goal is to create a new, synthetic field that characterizes, quantifies, and empirically documents the evolutionary and ecological mechanisms that drive both human and nonhuman agriculture. The contributors report on the results of quantitative analyses comparing human and nonhuman agriculture; discuss evolutionary conflicts of interest between and among farmers and cultivars and how they interfere with efficiencies of agricultural symbiosis; describe in detail agriculture in termites, ambrosia beetles, and ants; and consider patterns of evolutionary convergence in different aspects of agriculture, comparing fungal parasites of ant agriculture with fungal parasites of human agriculture, analyzing the effects of agriculture on human anatomy, and tracing the similarities and differences between the evolution of agriculture in humans and in a single, relatively well-studied insect group, fungus-farming ants.
Download or read book Systematics of the Tribe Iceryini Hemiptera Coccoidea Monophlebidae written by Corinne Marie Unruh and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 622 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sabah Parks Nature Journal written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Les Insectes Sociaux written by International Union for the Study of Social Insects. Congress and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Zoological Record written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 1138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ecology Abstracts written by and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 1220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coverage: 1982- current; updated: monthly. This database covers current ecology research across a wide range of disciplines, reflecting recent advances in light of growing evidence regarding global environmental change and destruction. Major ares of subject coverage include: Algae/lichens, Animals, Annelids, Aquatic ecosystems, Arachnids, Arid zones, Birds, Brackish water, Bryophytes/pteridophytes, Coastal ecosystems, Conifers, Conservation, Control, Crustaceans, Ecosyst em studies, Fungi, Grasses, Grasslands, High altitude environments, Human ecology, Insects, Legumes, Mammals, Management, Microorganisms, Molluscs, Nematodes, Paleo-ecology, Plants, Pollution studies, Reptiles, River basins, Soil, TAiga/tundra, Terrestrial ecosystems, Vertebrates, Wetlands, Woodlands.
Download or read book The Runes of Evolution written by Simon Conway Morris and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did human beings acquire imaginations that can conjure up untrue possibilities? How did the Universe become self-aware? In The Runes of Evolution, Simon Conway Morris revitalizes the study of evolution from the perspective of convergence, providing us with compelling new evidence to support the mounting scientific view that the history of life is far more predictable than once thought. A leading evolutionary biologist at the University of Cambridge, Conway Morris came into international prominence for his work on the Cambrian explosion (especially fossils of the Burgess Shale) and evolutionary convergence, which is the process whereby organisms not closely related (not monophyletic), independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches. In The Runes of Evolution, he illustrates how the ubiquity of convergence hints at an underlying framework whereby many outcomes, not least brains and intelligence, are virtually guaranteed on any Earth-like planet. Conway Morris also emphasizes how much of the complexity of advanced biological systems is inherent in microbial forms. By casting a wider net, The Runes of Evolution explores many neglected evolutionary questions. Some are remarkably general. Why, for example, are convergences such as parasitism, carnivory, and nitrogen fixation in plants concentrated in particular taxonomic hot spots? Why do certain groups have a particular propensity to evolve toward particular states? Some questions lead to unexpected evolutionary insights: If bees sleep (as they do), do they dream? Why is that insect copulating with an orchid? Why have sponges evolved a system of fiber optics? What do mantis shrimps and submarines have in common? If dinosaurs had not gone extinct what would have happened next? Will a saber-toothed cat ever re-evolve? Cona Morris observes: “Even amongst the mammals, let alone the entire tree of life, humans represent one minute twig of a vast (and largely fossilized) arborescence. Every living species is a linear descendant of an immense string of now-vanished ancestors, but evolution itself is the very reverse of linear. Rather it is endlessly exploratory, probing the vast spaces of biological hyperspace. Indeed this book is a celebration of how our world is (and was) populated by a riot of forms, a coruscating tapestry of life.” The Runes of Evolution is the most definitive synthesis of evolutionary convergence to be published to date.
Download or read book Behavioural Biology Abstracts written by and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
