Insect movement across habitat edges between forest and agriculture has the potential to affect ecosystem processes. In this study, I quantified aerial beetle communities in Ohio along transect lines crossing forest edges and stretching into corn and forest habitats. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of forest patch size, distance to the forest edge and agricultural matrix effects on beetle community dynamics. Beetle abundance and species richness were significantly higher at the edge throughout season. Net difference in abundance showed that in large fragments, individuals moved toward forest interior whereas beetles in small fragments flux towards corn. This suggests that large forest fragment edge were "hard" compared to small forest fragments. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling showed log patch area and tree importance value were the two most importance variables in determining species composition. Spillover of insects across boundaries has various implications for biodiversity research in land management.

Hedges and field margins are important wildlife habitats and deliver a range of ecosystem services, and their value is increasingly recognised by ecologists. This book reviews and assesses the current state of research on hedgerows and associated field margins. With the intensification of agriculture in the second half of the last century, field sizes were increased by amalgamation and the rooting out of hedges, synthetic pesticide and inorganic fertiliser use increased, and traditional methods of hedge management were largely abandoned. The book is split into two main sections. The first deals with definitions, current and historic management, the impact of pesticides, the decline in hedge stock and condition, and new approaches to hedge evaluation using remote sensing techniques. The second section explores the pollination and biological pest control benefits provided by hedges and field margins and examines the ecology of some of the major groups that are found in hedgerows and field margins: butterflies and moths, carabid beetles, mammals, and birds. A case study on birds and invertebrates from a research farm managed as a commercial enterprise, but which attempts to farm with wildlife in mind, brings these themes together. A final chapter introduces the neglected area of hedges in the urban environment. The book will be of great interest to advanced students, researchers and professionals in ecology, agriculture, wildlife conservation, natural history, landscape, environmental and land management.

The intensification of agriculture for increased food production is leading to new challenges for biodiversity conservation, particularly managing complex changing landscapes for mutually beneficial outcomes for agriculture and the environment. My thesis aimed to understand the diversity and distribution of beetles (Coleoptera), and the mechanisms shaping beetle assemblages across a dynamic and fragmented agricultural landscape. I used a landscape-scale study in south-eastern Australia to examine beetle assemblages in remnant woodland patches and four types of adjoining farmlands: crop, fallow, plantings, and fine woody debris applied over harvested crop. My thesis comprised four chapters written as journal articles. In Paper I, I examined seasonal differences in beetle assemblages between the woodland interior and four adjoining farmland uses. I found that overall species richness was significantly lower in woodlands than farmlands, although both habitats supported significantly different assemblages. Abundance responses were taxon-specific, and influenced by interactions between land-use and season. These results suggest the importance of maintaining farmland heterogeneity with a mix of low-intensity land-uses, with further agricultural intensification a likely threat to beetle diversity in the region. In Paper II, I examined temporal patterns of edge responses and movement of beetle assemblages between woodlands and the four farmland uses. The use of directional pitfall traps allowed inference of cross-habitat movement. Farmland use and season interactively affected beetle abundance across farmland-woodland edges. Applying woody debris was a novel way of reducing seasonal fluctuations in edge responses and increasing permeability for cross-habitat movement. Edges likely provided resources for beetles in adjoining habitats, but seasonal movement of predators into edges might negatively affect prey assemblages. In Paper III, I quantified relationships between ground-layer structure, plant species richness and plant composition, and the diversity and composition of beetles from different habitats or seasons. Plant composition better predicted beetle composition than vegetation structure. Plant richness and vegetation structure both significantly affected beetle abundance and composition. The influence of these vegetation attributes often varied depending on habitat and season for all trophic groups. These dynamic plant-beetle relationships suggest a need for targeted ways of managing vegetation to improve beetle diversity in different parts of the landscape. In Paper IV, I disentangled the effects of farmland use, edge effects and vegetation structure on the morphological traits of Carabidae species. Carabid body size increased across a distance from edges between woodlands and farmlands, and there were strong mediating effects of farmland use on this association. Vegetation structure was associated with traits relating to body size, flying ability and body shape, and helped explain some of the effects of farmland use and edge effects on body size. These results provide evidence of vegetation- and land-use-mediated filtering of traits as an important factor shaping carabid assemblages in human-modified landscapes. My results indicate that farmlands can provide important habitat for many beetle species. However, spatio-temporal changes in farmland habitat strongly influence beetle assemblages across the landscape. Conservation strategies, therefore, need to take a whole-of-landscape approach, and exploit heterogeneity of mixed-farmlands over space and time to maximise outcomes for biodiversity.

During the past decade there has been a growing interest in bioenergy, driven by concerns about global climate change, growing energy demand, and depleting fossil fuel reserves. The predicted rise in biofuel demand makes it important to understand the potential consequences of expanding biofuel cultivation. A systematic review was conducted on the biodiversity impacts of three first-generation biofuel crops (oil palm, soybean, and jatropha) in the tropics. The study focused on the impacts on species richness, abundance (total number of individuals or occurrences), community composition, and ecosystem functions related to species richness and community composition.

In many ecosystems dung beetles play a crucial role--both ecologically and economically--in the decomposition of large herbivore dung. Their activities provide scientists with an excellent opportunity to explore biological community dynamics. This collection of essays offers a concise account of the population and community ecology of dung beetles worldwide, with an emphasis on comparisons between arctic, temperate, and tropical species assemblages. Useful insights arise from relating the vast differences in species' life histories to their population and community-level consequences. The authors also discuss changes in dung beetle faunas due to human-caused habitat alteration and examine the possible effects of introducing dung beetles to cattle-breeding areas that lack efficient native species. "With the expansion of cattle breeding areas, the ecology of dung beetles is a subject of great economic concern as well as one of intense theoretical interest. This excellent book represents an up-to-date ecological study covering important aspects of the dung beetle never before presented."--Gonzalo Halffter, Instituto de Ecologia, Mexico City Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

An accessible introduction to the theory and practice of multivariate analysis for graduates, researchers and professionals dealing with ecological problems.