The dazzling variation in plant chemistry is a primary mediator of trophic interactions, including herbivory, predation, parasitism, and disease. At the same time, such interactions feed back to influence spatial and temporal variation in the chemistry of plants. In this book, Mark Hunter provides a novel approach to linking the trophic interactions of organisms with the cycling of nutrients in ecosystems. Hunter introduces the concept of the "phytochemical landscape"—the shifting spatial and temporal mosaic of plant chemistry that serves as the nexus between trophic interactions and nutrient dynamics. He shows how plant chemistry is both a cause and consequence of trophic interactions, and how it also mediates ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling. Nutrients and organic molecules in plant tissues affect decomposition rates and the fluxes of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The availability of these same nutrients influences the chemistry of cells and tissues that plants produce. In combination, these feedback routes generate pathways by which trophic interactions influence nutrient dynamics and vice versa, mediated through plant chemistry. Hunter provides evidence from terrestrial and aquatic systems for each of these pathways, and describes how a focus on the phytochemical landscape enables us to better understand and manage the ecosystems in which we live. Essential reading for students and researchers alike, this book offers an integrated approach to population-, community-, and ecosystem-level ecological processes.

Chemical Ecology is a component of Encyclopedia of Chemical Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Chemical Ecology provides the essential aspects of the chemicals involved in the interactions of living organisms. It deals with studies involving defensive chemicals which are utilized to deter potential predators, which may attack a wide variety of species, animal interaction, aquatic ecosystems, chemical ecology and pest management, relation to medicine and pharmaceuticals. This volume is aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers.

A world list of books in the English language.

While the study of the chemicals produced by plants is arguably one of the oldest of the natural product sciences, current global concerns regarding the disappearance of biodiversity, along with the availability of methodology for systematic genetic manipulation and plant tissue culture, have rekindled industrial interest in phytochemical screening. Phytochemical Diversity gives a comprehensive overview of recent discoveries and developments of new products from plants that have potential utility in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and cosmetic industries. It covers such areas as high throughput screening approaches for the discovery of novel phytochemicals, ethnobotanical drug discovery, comparisons of the chemical diversity available from plants and other natural sources, and adding value to phytochemicals through microbial biotransformations and synthetic approaches. It is particularly timely in its look at the ramifications of the recent UN Convention on Biological Diversity and its impact on the search for new industrial products from plants. This book provides a single source on developments in phytochemical research, with contributions from both academia to industry, and developing to developed countries, which will prove invaluable to bio-organic chemists, biotechnologists and those involved in medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry.