Macroevolutionary Theory on Macroecological Patterns

This book sets the ecological themes of abundance, distribution, and population dynamics in an evolutionary context.

Peter W. Price (Author)

9780521817127, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 November 2002

302 pages, 86 b/w illus. 27 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.61 kg

"The book is satisfyingly rich in detail, from descriptions of Price's focal system ... and the history of the study of insect population dynamics, to his breadth of coverage within insects." The Quarterly Review of Biology

In Macroevolutionary Theory on Macroecological Patterns, Peter Price establishes a completely new vision of the central themes in ecology. For the first time in book form, the study of distribution, abundance, and population size variation in animals is cast in an evolutionary framework. The book argues that evolved characters of organisms such as morphology, behavior, and life history influence strongly their ecological relationships, including the way that populations fluctuate through time and space. The central ideas in the book are supported by data gathered from over twenty years of research, primarily into plant and herbivore interactions, concentrating on insects. The huge diversity of insect herbivores provides the immense comparative power necessary for a strong evolutionary study of ecological principles. The book is intended as essential reading for all researchers and students of ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavior, and for entomologists working in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry.

Preface
Acknowledgements
1. The general thesis
2. Historical views on distribution, abundance, and population dynamics
3. The focal species - basic biology
4. The focal species - emergent properties
5. The focal group - the common sawflies
6. Convergent constraints in divergent taxonomic groups
7. Divergent constraints and emergent properties
8. Common constraints and divergent emergent properties
9. The thesis applied to parasitoids, vertebrate taxa, and plants
10. Theory development and synthesis
Glossary
References
Author index
Taxonomic index
Subject index.

Subject Areas: Insects [entomology PSVT7], Evolution [PSAJ]