Insect Ecology - An Ecosystem Approach 2nd ed - Chapter 1 docx

[...]... Morris 19 69, Nicholson 19 58, Varley and Gradwell 19 70, Varley et al 19 73, Wellington et al 19 75); competition (Park 19 48, 19 54); predator–prey interaction (Nicholson and Bailey 19 35); mutualism (Batra 19 66, Bronstein 19 98, Janzen 19 66, Morgan 19 68, Rickson 19 71, 19 77); island biogeography (Darlington 19 43, MacArthur and Wilson 19 67, Simberloff 19 69, 19 78); metapopulation ecology (Hanski 19 89); and regulation... herbivory and effects on ecosystem parameters; Chapter 13 describes patterns and effects of pollination, seed predation, and seed dispersal; and Chapter 14 describes patterns and effects of detritivory and burrowing on ecosystem processes Chapter 15 addresses the developing concept of ecosystem self-regulation and mechanisms, including species diversity and insect effects, that may contribute to ecosystem. .. quanti ed the importance of indirect interactions or information flow Indirect interactions and feedbacks are common features of ecosystems For example, herbivores feeding above-ground alter the availability of resources for root-feeding organisms (Gehring and Whitham 19 91, 19 95, Masters et al 19 93); early-season herbivory can affect plant suitability for later-season herbivores (Harrison and Karban 19 86,... disturbances, and environmental changes creates a constantly shifting landscape mosaic of various habitat and resource patches that determine where and how insects and other organisms find suitable conditions and resources Insect outbreaks traditionally have been viewed as disturbances (P White and Pickett 19 85, Walker and Willig 19 99) P White and Pickett (19 85) proposed that disturbance be defined as any relatively... exacerbate ecosystem change (e.g., Croft and Gutierrez 19 91, Kogan 19 98), especially in managed ecosystems Research on insects and associated arthropods (e.g., spiders, mites, centipedes, millipedes, crustaceans) has been critical to development of the fundamental principles of ecology, such as evolution of social organization (Haldane 19 32, Hamilton 19 64, E Wilson 19 73); population dynamics (Coulson 19 79,... self-regulation has major implications for ecosystem responses to anthropogenic change in environmental conditions and for our approaches to managing insects and ecosystem resources III ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND DISTURBANCE Environmental changes across temporal and spatial gradients are critical components of an ecosystem approach to insect ecology Insects are highly responsive to environmental changes,... However, an ecosystem approach provides a framework for integrating insect ecology with the changing patterns of ecosystem structure and function and for applying insect ecology to understanding of ecosystem, landscape, and global issues, such as climate change or sustainability of ecosystem resources Unfortunately, few ecosystem studies have involved insect ecologists and, therefore, have tended to underrepresent... spatial and temporal patterns of energy and nutrient storage and flux through ecosystems Section IV (Chapters 11 15 ) focuses on ecosystems and is the unique contribution of this text to graduate education in insect ecology Chapter 11 addresses general aspects of ecosystem structure and function, especially processes of energy and matter storage and flux that determine resource availability Chapter 12 describes.. .1 Overview I Scope of Insect Ecology II Ecosystem Ecology A Ecosystem Complexity B The Hierarchy of Subsystems C Regulation III Environmental Change and Disturbance IV Ecosystem Approach to Insect Ecology V Scope of This Book INSECTS ARE THE DOMINANT GROUP OF ORGANISMS ON EARTH, IN terms of both taxonomic diversity (>50% of all described species) and ecological function (E Wilson 19 92) (Fig 1. 1) Insects... birds and plants; current rates of species disappearance represent the sixth major extinction event through time Predicting and mitigating species losses or pest outbreaks depends strongly on our understanding of insect ecology within the context of ecosystem structure and function IV ECOSYSTEM APPROACH TO INSECT ECOLOGY Insect ecology can be approached using a hierarchical model (Coulson and Crossley 19 87) . (Park 19 48, 19 54); predator–prey interaction (Nicholson and Bailey 19 35); mutualism (Batra 19 66, Bronstein 19 98, Janzen 19 66, Morgan 19 68, Rickson 19 71, 19 77); island biogeography (Darlington 19 43,. (MacMahon 19 81, Maschinski and Whitham 19 89, Mattson and Addy 19 75, Schowalter and Lowman 19 99, Schowalter et al. 19 86, Trumble et al. 19 93). Insects and associated arthropods are instrumental in pro- cessing. challenge for insect ecologists is to place insect ecology in an ecosystem context that represents insect effects on ecosystem properties, as well 1 0 0 1- P088772.qxd 1/ 24/06 10 : 31 AM Page 1 as the