Insect herbivore-host dynamics : tree-dwelling aphids / A.F.G. Dixon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dixon, A. F. G. (Anthony Frederick George), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aphids--Host plants.

Aphids.

Insect-plant relationships.

Insect societies.

Trees--Diseases and pests.

Trees.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 199 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Literature on the population dynamics of insect herbivores tends to favour a top-down regulation of abundance, owing much to the action of natural enemies. Originally published in 2005, this volume challenges this paradigm and argues that tree-dwelling species of aphids, through competition for resources, regulate their own abundance. The biology of tree-dwelling aphids is examined, particularly their adaptation to the seasonal development of their host plants. When host-plant quality is favourable, aphids, by telescoping generations, can achieve prodigious rates of increase which their natural enemies are unable to match. Using analyses of long-term population censuses and results of experiments, this book introduces students and research workers to insect herbivore-host dynamics using the interaction between aphids and trees as a model.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Tree-dwelling aphids

3. Trees as a habitat : relations of aphids to trees

4. Trees as a habitat : relations of aphids to their natural enemies

5. Carrying capacity of trees

6. Aphid abundance

7. Population dynamics

8. Risky dispersal

9. Seasonal sex allocation

10. Aphids and tree fitness

11. Rarity, conservation and global warming.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-13066-2

1-280-41902-4

9786610419029

0-511-19707-1

0-511-17136-6

0-511-08202-9

0-511-29845-5

0-511-54267-4

0-511-08157-X

OCLC:

60712214