Author(s): Jill Lancaster (Author), Barbara J. Downes
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Usa
Publication Date: August 16, 2013
Edition: Illustrated
Language: English
Print length: 296 pages
ISBN-10: 0199573220
ISBN-13: 9780199573226
Book Description
Aquatic insects are the dominant invertebrate fauna in most freshwater ecosystems, and figure prominently in the work of a diverse range of researchers, students, and environmental managers. Often employed as indicators of ecosystem health, aquatic insects are also commonly used as model systems to test hypotheses in ecological topics including metapopulation and metacommunity dynamics, recruitment limitation, trophic interactions, and trophic networks. Due to their complex life cycles, aquatic insects must master both terrestrial and aquatic environments, crossing these ecosystem boundaries during different stages of development and reproduction.
In this wide-ranging text, life under and on top of the water surface are covered in unusual detail, including the biomechanics of life in water, locomotion underwater and on surface films, gas exchange, physico-chemical stressors, feeding, sensory perception and communication, reproduction, egg-laying and development, and the evolution of aquatic habits. The threatened status of freshwaters around the world, coupled with an expanding population of researchers and managers charged with their well-being, signals the importance of such a book as many individuals seek to understand how insects function in these often challenging physical environments. Interest in freshwaters may never have been higher with ever-increasing conflict between water allocation for human (agricultural) use and conservation.
Aquatic Entomology is suitable for graduate students, researchers, and managers interested in the subject from a perspective of either basic or applied ecology. It will also be a valuable supplementary text for courses in limnology or freshwater ecology, entomology, and water resource management.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Readers desiring a fundamental understanding of the biology of aquatic insects, with the goal of using that understanding to add depth and breadth to applied purposes, will be rewarded with detailed answers to diverse and complex questions.” —Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin
“The text is illustrated with many very clear text figures and half-tone photographs and is supported by a huge range of references, so that it is possible to follow up any specific topic that becomes of interest.” —BES Bulletin
“Researchers, as well as students in entomology with a special interest in aquatic insects have got a handbook on the biology of these species with nearly no wishes left open.” —Bulletin of Fish Biology
“This is a small, well-structured textbook on aquatic insects. … The book is well written, and its different parts and chapters are well connected using references. —The Quarterly Review of Biology
“This is the most comprehensive publication on aquatic entomology to date, covering all the facets of aquatic insect development. Generally, it is an excellent publication that will be invaluable to both aquatic and terrestrial ecologists…It brings together a wealth of information from a diverse range of sources, including journals that are difficult to access, has sufficient detail for post-graduate research, but will also be useful for undergraduate students and a general audience, with clear and well-illustrated explanations of complex concepts.” — Austral Ecology
Book Description
A comprehensive text on all aspects of the biology of aquatic insects around the world.
About the Author
Jill Lancaster, The University of Melbourne,Barbara J. Downes, The University of Melbourne
Jill Lancaster is a freshwater ecologist with a long-standing interest in aquatic insects. She received her PhD from the University of London, and held academic positions at the University of Edinburgh and Monash University, until becoming semi-retired and an honorary Principal Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. In general, Lancaster’s research uses freshwater systems and aquatic invertebrates to empirically test ideas in population and community ecology. An over-arching theme lies in understanding how interactions between the physical environment and biological processes influence ecological systems. She has published many peer-reviewed papers in international journals and held editorial positions for several journals.
Barbara Downes is an aquatic ecologist who has worked in a wide range of different ecosystems including lowland rivers, upland streams, wetlands, and intertidal and subtidal rocky reefs. She received her PhD from Florida State University in 1988 and, after several postdoctoral fellowships, joined the University of Melbourne in 1995, where she has remained ever since. Her research seeks to understand factors that limit population numbers and that maintain species diversity in freshwater systems. Her interest in insects springs from a fascination with species having complex life cycles that span both freshwater and terrestrial environments. She has published numerous peer-reviewed papers and two books and has served as an editor for several international journals.
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