Insect Biodiversity

Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society brings togetherleading scientific experts to assess the impact insects have onhumankind and the earth’s fragile ecosystems. It examines whyinsect biodiversity matters and how the rapid evolution of insectspecies is affecting us all. Insects and related arthropods make up more than 50 percent ofthe known animal diversity globally, yet a lack of knowledge aboutinsects is hindering the advance of science and society. This bookexplores the wide variety in type and number of insect species andtheir evolutionary relationships. Case studies offer assessments onhow insect biodiversity can help meet the needs of a rapidlyexpanding human population, and also examine the consequences thatan increased loss of insect species will have on the world. The book concludes that a better understanding of the biologyand ecology of insects is the only way to sustainably manageecosystems in an ever changing global environment.

Volume Two of the new guide to the study of biodiversity in insects Volume Two of Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society presents an entirely new, companion volume of a comprehensive resource for the most current research on the influence insects have on humankind and on our endangered environment. With contributions from leading researchers and scholars on the topic, the text explores relevant topics including biodiversity in different habitats and regions, taxonomic groups, and perspectives. Volume Two offers coverage of insect biodiversity in regional settings, such as the Arctic and Asia, and in particular habitats including crops, caves, and islands. The authors also include information on historical, cultural, technical, and climatic perspectives of insect biodiversity. This book explores the wide variety of insect species and their evolutionary relationships. Case studies offer assessments on how insect biodiversity can help meet the needs of a rapidly expanding human population, and examine the consequences that an increased loss of insect species will have on the world. This important text: Offers the most up-to-date information on the important topic of insect biodiversity Explores vital topics such as the impact on insect biodiversity through habitat loss and degradation and climate change With its companion Volume I, presents current information on the biodiversity of all insect orders Contains reviews of insect biodiversity in culture and art, in the fossil record, and in agricultural systems Includes scientific approaches and methods for the study of insect biodiversity The book offers scientists, academics, professionals, and students a guide for a better understanding of the biology and ecology of insects, highlighting the need to sustainably manage ecosystems in an ever-changing global environment.

Volume Two of the new guide to the study of biodiversity in insects Volume Two of Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society presents an entirely new, companion volume of a comprehensive resource for the most current research on the influence insects have on humankind and on our endangered environment. With contributions from leading researchers and scholars on the topic, the text explores relevant topics including biodiversity in different habitats and regions, taxonomic groups, and perspectives. Volume Two offers coverage of insect biodiversity in regional settings, such as the Arctic and Asia, and in particular habitats including crops, caves, and islands. The authors also include information on historical, cultural, technical, and climatic perspectives of insect biodiversity. This book explores the wide variety of insect species and their evolutionary relationships. Case studies offer assessments on how insect biodiversity can help meet the needs of a rapidly expanding human population, and examine the consequences that an increased loss of insect species will have on the world. This important text: Offers the most up-to-date information on the important topic of insect biodiversity Explores vital topics such as the impact on insect biodiversity through habitat loss and degradation and climate change With its companion Volume I, presents current information on the biodiversity of all insect orders Contains reviews of insect biodiversity in culture and art, in the fossil record, and in agricultural systems Includes scientific approaches and methods for the study of insect biodiversity The book offers scientists, academics, professionals, and students a guide for a better understanding of the biology and ecology of insects, highlighting the need to sustainably manage ecosystems in an ever-changing global environment.

Volume One of the thoroughly revised and updated guide to the study of biodiversity in insects The second edition of Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society brings together in one comprehensive text contributions from leading scientific experts to assess the influence insects have on humankind and the earth’s fragile ecosystems. Revised and updated, this new edition includes information on the number of substantial changes to entomology and the study of biodiversity. It includes current research on insect groups, classification, regional diversity, and a wide range of concepts and developing methodologies. The authors examine why insect biodiversity matters and how the rapid evolution of insects is affecting us all. This book explores the wide variety of insect species and their evolutionary relationships. Case studies offer assessments on how insect biodiversity can help meet the needs of a rapidly expanding human population, and also examine the consequences that an increased loss of insect species will have on the world. This important text: Explores the rapidly increasing influence on systematics of genomics and next-generation sequencing Includes developments in the use of DNA barcoding in insect systematics and in the broader study of insect biodiversity, including the detection of cryptic species Discusses the advances in information science that influence the increased capability to gather, manipulate, and analyze biodiversity information Comprises scholarly contributions from leading scientists in the field Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society highlights the rapid growth of insect biodiversity research and includes an expanded treatment of the topic that addresses the major insect groups, the zoogeographic regions of biodiversity, and the scope of systematics approaches for handling biodiversity data.

Volume One of the thoroughly revised and updated guide to the study of biodiversity in insects The second edition of Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society brings together in one comprehensive text contributions from leading scientific experts to assess the influence insects have on humankind and the earth’s fragile ecosystems. Revised and updated, this new edition includes information on the number of substantial changes to entomology and the study of biodiversity. It includes current research on insect groups, classification, regional diversity, and a wide range of concepts and developing methodologies. The authors examine why insect biodiversity matters and how the rapid evolution of insects is affecting us all. This book explores the wide variety of insect species and their evolutionary relationships. Case studies offer assessments on how insect biodiversity can help meet the needs of a rapidly expanding human population, and also examine the consequences that an increased loss of insect species will have on the world. This important text: Explores the rapidly increasing influence on systematics of genomics and next-generation sequencing Includes developments in the use of DNA barcoding in insect systematics and in the broader study of insect biodiversity, including the detection of cryptic species Discusses the advances in information science that influence the increased capability to gather, manipulate, and analyze biodiversity information Comprises scholarly contributions from leading scientists in the field Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society highlights the rapid growth of insect biodiversity research and includes an expanded treatment of the topic that addresses the major insect groups, the zoogeographic regions of biodiversity, and the scope of systematics approaches for handling biodiversity data.

A devastating examination of how collapsing insect populations worldwide threaten everything from wild birds to the food on our plate. From ants scurrying under leaf litter to bees able to fly higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, insects are everywhere. Three out of every four of our planet’s known animal species are insects. In The Insect Crisis, acclaimed journalist Oliver Milman dives into the torrent of recent evidence that suggests this kaleidoscopic group of creatures is suffering the greatest existential crisis in its remarkable 400-million-year history. What is causing the collapse of the insect world? Why does this alarming decline pose such a threat to us? And what can be done to stem the loss of the miniature empires that hold aloft life as we know it? With urgency and great clarity, Milman explores this hidden emergency, arguing that its consequences could even rival climate change. He joins the scientists tracking the decline of insect populations across the globe, including the soaring mountains of Mexico that host an epic, yet dwindling, migration of monarch butterflies; the verdant countryside of England that has been emptied of insect life; the gargantuan fields of U.S. agriculture that have proved a killing ground for bees; and an offbeat experiment in Denmark that shows there aren’t that many bugs splattering into your car windshield these days. These losses not only further tear at the tapestry of life on our degraded planet; they imperil everything we hold dear, from the food on our supermarket shelves to the medicines in our cabinets to the riot of nature that thrills and enlivens us. Even insects we may dread, including the hated cockroach, or the stinging wasp, play crucial ecological roles, and their decline would profoundly shape our own story. By connecting butterfly and bee, moth and beetle from across the globe, the full scope of loss renders a portrait of a crisis that threatens to upend the workings of our collective history. Part warning, part celebration of the incredible variety of insects, The Insect Crisis is a wake-up call for us all.

Biodiversity offers great potential for managing insect pests. It provides resistance genes and anti-insect compounds; a huge range of predatory and parasitic natural enemies of pests; and community ecology-level effects operating at the local and landscape scales to check pest build-up. This book brings together world leaders in theoretical, methodological and applied aspects to provide a comprehensive treatment of this fast-moving field. Chapter authors from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas ensure a truly international scope. Topics range from scientific principles, innovative research methods, ecological economics and effective communication to farmers, as well as case studies of successful use of biodiversity-based pest management some of which extend over millions of hectares or are enshrined as government policy. Written to be accessible to advanced undergraduates whilst also stimulating the seasoned researcher, this work will help unlock the power of biodiversity to deliver sustainable insect pest management. Visit www.wiley.com/go/gurr/biodiversity to access the artwork from the book.

This book brings together a wide range of sampling methods for investigating different arthropod groups. Each chapter is organized to describe and evaluate the main sampling methods (field methods, materials and supplies, sampling protocols, effort needed, and limitations); in addition, some chapters describe the specimen preparation and conservation, species identification, data collection and management (treatment, statistical analysis, interpretation), and ecological/conservation implications of arthropod communities. The book aims to be a reference for zoologists, entomologists, arachnologists, ecologists, students, researchers, and for those interested in arthropod science and biodiversity. We hope the book will contribute to advance knowledge on field assessments and conservation strategies. Arthropods represent the most speciose group of organisms on Earth, with a remarkable number of species and interactions still to be described. These invertebrates are recognized for playing key ecological roles in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Because of the increasing and relentless threats arthropods are facing lately due to a multitude of human induced drivers, this book represents an important contribution to assess their biodiversity and role in ecosystem functioning and generation of ecosystem services worldwide.