Providing an essential foundation for evolutionary theory, this comprehensive volume examines patterns of genetic variation within natural insect populations, and explores the underlying mechanisms that lead to the genetic divergence of coexisting organisms. In particular, the text investigates current research on finescale genetic structure in natural insect populations. Internationally renowned scientists offer a wealth of current information not previously published. Part I present case studies of adaptive genetic structure in natural insect populations, including a critical discussion of the strenghts and weaknesses of the experimental methods employed. Part II addresses the ecological mechanisms that produce adaptive genetic structure in natural insect populations. Part III describes how behavioral and life-history patterns influence genetic structure. Finally, Part IV combines theoretical and empirical approaches linking genetic structure at the population level with larger-scale patterns of variation, such as host race formation and speciation. This broad-ranging, interdisciplinary source of information supplies a thorough examination of the mechanisms that promote and impede genetic structure in natural insect populations. It is a book that will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students, and to researchers in the fields of ecology, evolution, insect and plant systems, entomology, and population genetics.

Patterns of adaptation in the past and the genetic basis of traits likely to be under selection in the dynamically changing environment are also discussed in relation to these responses.".

Knowledge of insect movement, particularly of flight, is crucial to our understanding of the great ecological and evolutionary success of insects. The last 20 years have seen many advances in this subject area. New fields have arisen, such as metapopulation theory, and dramatic developments have taken place in methods of studying movement, as a result of new techniques in molecular biology and radar monitoring. There have also been advances in our knowledge of flight-related physiology and behaviour. This book, which is based on the main papers presented at the Royal Entomological Society's 20th Symposium held in September 1999, brings us up to date with these developments.It contains chapters on:flight mechanismsforaging movementsmigrationthe evolution of movement strategiesthe interactions between dispersal rates, population structure and gene flow the effects of climate change on geographical distributionIt is essential reading for entomologists, and of interest to those researching animal behaviour, physiology, ecology and genetics.

Molecular Ecology provides a comprehensive introduction to the many diverse aspects of this subject. The book unites theory with examples from a wide range of taxa in a logical and progressive manner, and its accessible writing style makes subjects such as population genetics and phylogenetics highly comprehensible to its readers. The first part of the book introduces the essential underpinnings of molecular ecology, starting with a review of genetics and a discussion of the molecular markers that are most frequently used in ecological research. This leads into an overview of population genetics in ecology. The second half of the book then moves on to specific applications of molecular ecology, covering phylogeography, behavioural ecology and conservation genetics. The final chapter looks at molecular ecology in a wider context by using a number of case studies that are relevant to various economic and social concerns, including wildlife forensics, agriculture, and overfishing * comprehensive overview of the different aspects of molecular ecology * attention to both theoretical and applied concerns * accessible writing style and logical structure * numerous up-to-date examples and references This will be an invaluable reference for those studying molecular ecology, population genetics, evolutionary biology, conservation genetics and behavioural ecology, as well as researchers working in these fields.

Summarises the current state of various studies investigating snail-parasite relationships.

Over the past 40 years, the SIP meetings have played a central role in the development of the field of insect-plant relationships, providing both a show-case for current research as well as a forum for the airing and development of influential new ideas. The 10th symposium, held 4-10 July 1998, in Oxford, followed that tradition. The present volume includes a representative selection of fully refereed papers from the meeting, plus a listing of the titles of all presentations. The volume includes reviews of major areas within the subject, along with detailed experimental studies. Topics covered include central neural and chemosensory bases of host plant recognition, integrative studies of insect behaviour, tritrophic interactions, plant defences, insect life histories, plant growth responses, microbial partners in insect-plant associations, and genetic bases of host plant associations. The book provides a key source for students and research workers in the field of insect-plant relationships.

Researchers in the field of ecological genomics aim to determine how a genome or a population of genomes interacts with its environment across ecological and evolutionary timescales. Ecological genomics is trans-disciplinary by nature. Ecologists have turned to genomics to be able to elucidate the mechanistic bases of the biodiversity their research tries to understand. Genomicists have turned to ecology in order to better explain the functional cellular and molecular variation they observed in their model organisms. We provide an advanced-level book that covers this recent research and proposes future development for this field. A synthesis of the field of ecological genomics emerges from this volume. Ecological Genomics covers a wide array of organisms (microbes, plants and animals) in order to be able to identify central concepts that motivate and derive from recent investigations in different branches of the tree of life. Ecological Genomics covers 3 fields of research that have most benefited from the recent technological and conceptual developments in the field of ecological genomics: the study of life-history evolution and its impact of genome architectures; the study of the genomic bases of phenotypic plasticity and the study of the genomic bases of adaptation and speciation.