Kategoria BISAC: Science >> Life Sciences - Ecology

Begging by nestling birds has become the model system for investigating evolutionary conflicts of interest within families and their theoretical resolution provided by honest signals of offspring need. In response to the recent explosions of scientific papers on the revolution of begging; we have brought together twenty-four original contributions from major researchers in all areas of this dynamic field.

Organised into six sections: I: Theoretical approaches; II: Begging as a signal; III: Nestling physiology; IV: Sibling competition; V: Brood parasitism; and VI: Statistical...

Large parts of the continents are covered by a green blanket of living plants. From an insect's point of view this green blanket is not uniform, but consists of a mosaic of resources of variable quality and with various levels of noxious secondary compounds. It is the challenge of phytophagous insects to orientate and reproduce within this mosaic of resources and among hostile competitors and natural enemies. The International Symposia on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP) provides fora where scientists from different fields (mainly in biology and chemistry) meet and discuss the most recent...

This book examines large-scale outbreaks of red tide along coastal areas, which is associated with fish and shellfish mass mortalities through poisoning. This book discusses the red tide phenomena throughout the world, including biological research results on taxonomy of cyst and vegetative cells of red tide organisms and ecological and physiological studies using ecological modeling.

Modern North American sturgeons and paddlefish are the result of 100 million years of evolution. Once an integral part of aboriginal culture, their numbers were decimated by overfishing and habitat destruction during the past two centuries.

This book details the extensive science aimed at helping these remarkable species recover from the brink of extinction, and describes the historical, biological, and ecological importance of North American sturgeon and paddlefish. The text is enhanced by photographs and detailed line drawings.

This comprehensive volume will be an...

Seagrasses are unique plants; the only group of flowering plants to recolonise the sea. They occur on every continental margin, except Antarctica, and form ecosystems which have important roles in fisheries, fish nursery grounds, prawn fisheries, habitat diversity and sediment stabilisation. Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of research and information on all aspects of seagrass biology. However the compilation of all this work into one book has not been attempted previously. In this book experts in 26 areas of seagrass biology present their work in chapters which are...

Nectar is the most important reward offered by plants to pollinating animals. This book is a modern and interdisciplinary text on nectar and nectaries, prompted by the expansion of knowledge, especially in the more ecological and now molecular fields, and the strong recent interest in pollination biology. The topics covered vary widely: they include historical aspects, the structure and ultrastructure of nectaries and relationships to plant systematics, the dynamics of nectar secretion, nectar chemistry and the molecular biology of defence proteins, adaptations to insect and vertebrate...

Sturgeons are considered living fossils, sharing many morphological and biological features with ancestral fish. Furthermore, sturgeons are of the utmost interest from an economic perspective, not only for the caviar but for the flesh. However, the wild populations of the majority of the species are at serious risk of extinction all over the world. So, it is urgent to develop strategies for both farming culture and conservation and recovery in natural habitats.

This book provides a comprehensive view of the biology and sustainable development of sturgeons putting emphasis on the...

Simply put, allelopathy refers to an ecological phenomenon of plant-plant interference through release of organic chemicals (allelochemicals) in the environment. These chemicals can be directly and continuously released by the donor plants in their immediate environment as volatiles in the air or root exudates in soil or they can be the microbial degradation products of plant residues. The chemicals may interfere with survival and growth of neighboring or succeeding plants. Black walnut, eucalyptus, sunflower, sorghum, sesame and alfalfa are common examples of plants with allelopathic...