Insect Biodiversity

Insect Biodiversity PDF

Author: Robert G. Foottit

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-07-24

Total Pages: 1572

ISBN-13: 1118945549

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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.

The Evolutionary Biology of Flies

The Evolutionary Biology of Flies PDF

Author: David K. Yeates

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2005-06-22

Total Pages: 441

ISBN-13: 0231501706

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Flies (Dipteria) have had an important role in deepening scientists'understanding of modern biology and evolution. The study of flies has figured prominently in major advances in the fields of molecular evolution, physiology, genetics, phylogenetics, and ecology over the last century. This volume, with contributions from top scientists and scholars in the field, brings together diverse aspects of research and will be essential reading for entomologists and fly researchers.

Insect Morphology and Phylogeny

Insect Morphology and Phylogeny PDF

Author: Rolf G. Beutel

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2013-12-12

Total Pages: 532

ISBN-13: 3110264048

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In the last decades a remarkable renaissance has materialized in insect morphology, mainly triggered by the development of new cutting-edge technologies. This is an exciting time for biological synthesis where the mysteries and data derived from genomes can be combined with centuries of data from morphology and development. And, now, more than ever, detailed knowledge of morphology is essential to understanding the evolution of all groups of organisms. In this “age of phylogenomics” researchers rely on morphological data to support molecular findings, test complex evolutionary scenarios, and for placing fossil taxa. This textbook provides an in-depth treatment of the structures and the phylogeny of the megadiverse Hexapoda. The first part presents an up-to-date overview of general insect morphology with detailed drawings, scanning electron micrographs, and 3-D reconstructions. Also included is a chapter covering innovative morphological techniques (e.g., μ-computer tomography, 3-D modeling), brief treatments of insect development and phylogenetic methods, and a comprehensive morphological glossary. The second part is of a modern synthesis of insect systematics that includes taxon-specific morphological information for all Orders. The work is an invaluable reference for students and researchers working in all facets of biology and is a must for evolutionary biologists. A detailed understanding of morphology is essential in unraveling phylogenetic relationships and developing complex evolutionary scenarios. Increasingly researchers in phylogenomics are re/turning to morphological data to support their findings, while the development of new cutting-edge technologies has further increased interest in this growing field. This definitive handbook provides an in-depth treatment of insect morphology. The first part presents an up-to-date overview of insect morphology with detailed drawings, brilliant scanning electron micrographs and 3-D reconstructions as interactive PDFs. This is complemented by a chapter on innovative morphological techniques (e.g., μ-computer tomography, 3-D modeling) and a comprehensive morphological glossary. The second part treats the state of the art in insect systematics and includes taxon-specific morphological information for all orders. Systematics are treated formally, with for example the arguments for relationships (“apomorphies”) always listed explicitly. The work is a useful reference for students and researchers working in different fields of biology and a must for those dealing with insects from an evolutionary perspective.

Insect Evolution in an Amberiferous and Stone Alphabet

Insect Evolution in an Amberiferous and Stone Alphabet PDF

Author: Dany Azar

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2013-07-18

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 9004210717

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Insects are the most diverse group of life on Earth and their history extends well into the Paleozoic, making them among the oldest of terrestrial animal lineages. They are critical to the well being of ecosystems from the equator to the poles, and are inexorably tied to the well being of our world. Whether beneficial or malignant, insects wield an overwhelming influence on our health, economy, and security. It is little wonder that insects so consistently appear in our cultures, religions, and mythologies. Given such realities, it is vital that we gain a better understanding and appreciation of Nature’s ‘inordinate fondness’. Indeed, there is considerable wisdom to be found in the study of these marvels of evolution, and what better way to understand their present and future than to peer back into their distant past. Here presented are some of the results of the 6th International Congress on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber (FossilX3) held in Byblos, Lebanon in April, 2013. In the tradition of previous congresses, researchers from around the world gathered to discuss the latest developments and to build new co-operative endeavours. Recognizing that the future of our science is one of interdisciplinary collaboration, these meetings steadily grow in importance, and proceedings such as this reveal the latest hypotheses and conclusions, while inspiring others toward newer and greater goals.

Evolution of the Insects

Evolution of the Insects PDF

Author: David Grimaldi

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-05-16

Total Pages: 790

ISBN-13: 9780521821490

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Insects are the most diverse group of organisms in the 3 billion-year history of life on Earth, and the most ecologically dominant animals on land. This book chronicles for the first time the complete evolutionary history of insects: their living diversity, relationships and 400 million years of fossils. Whereas other volumes have focused on either living species or fossils, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of insect evolution. The book is illustrated with 955 photo- and electronmicrographs, drawings, diagrams, and field photos, many in full colour and virtually all of them original. The book will appeal to anyone engaged with insect diversity: professional entomologists and students, insect and fossil collectors, and naturalists.