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This book provides a comprehensive review of the evolution of traits associated with predation and predator defense for bats and all of their prey, both invertebrates (e.g. insects) and vertebrates (e.g. frogs), in the context of co-evolution. It reviews current knowledge of how echolocation and passive hearing are used by bats to hunt prey in complete darkness. Also it highlights how prey have evolved counter measures to bat echolocation to avoid detection and capture. This includes the whole range of prey responses from being active at times when bats are inactive to the use of acoustic signals of their own to interfere with the echolocation system of bats.
This book addresses the fundamental issues of predator-prey interactions, with an emphasis on predation among arthropods, which have been better studied, and for which the database is more extensive than for the large and rare vertebrate predators. The book should appeal to ecologists interested in the broad issue of predation effects on communities.
From the Foreword: "Predator-prey interactions are among the most significant of all organism-organism interactions....It will only be by compiling and evaluating data on predator-prey relations as they are recorded in the fossil record that we can hope to tease apart their role in the tangled web of evolutionary interaction over time. This volume, compiled by a group of expert specialists on the evidence of predator-prey interactions in the fossil record, is a pioneering effort to collate the information now accumulating in this important field. It will be a standard reference on which future study of one of the central dynamics of ecology as seen in the fossil record will be built." (Richard K. Bambach, Professor Emeritus, Virginia Tech, Associate of the Botanical Museum, Harvard University)
Predatory Prokaryotes examines the ecology of predation at the microbial level. It aims to increase the awareness of the great possibilities that predation between microbes offer for studying and discussing basic ecological and general biological concepts.
Coevolution—reciprocal evolutionary change in interacting species driven by natural selection—is one of the most important ecological and genetic processes organizing the earth's biodiversity: most plants and animals require coevolved interactions with other species to survive and reproduce. The Geographic Mosaic of Coevolution analyzes how the biology of species provides the raw material for long-term coevolution, evaluates how local coadaptation forms the basic module of coevolutionary change, and explores how the coevolutionary process reshapes locally coevolving interactions across the earth's constantly changing landscapes. Picking up where his influential The Coevolutionary Process left off, John N. Thompsonsynthesizes the state of a rapidly developing science that integrates approaches from evolutionary ecology, population genetics, phylogeography, systematics, evolutionary biochemistry and physiology, and molecular biology. Using models, data, and hypotheses to develop a complete conceptual framework, Thompson also draws on examples from a wide range of taxa and environments, illustrating the expanding breadth and depth of research in coevolutionary biology.
Predator-prey interactions are ubiquitous, govern the flow of energy up trophic levels, and strongly influence the structure of ecological systems. They are typically quantified using the functional response - the relationship between a predator's foraging rate and the availability of food. As such, the functional response is central to how all ecological communities function - since all communities contain foragers - and a principal driver of the abundance, diversity, and dynamics of ecological communities. The functional response also reflects all the behaviors, traits, and strategies that predators use to hunt prey and that prey use to evade predation. It is thus both a clear reflection of past evolution, including predator-prey arms races, and a major force driving the future evolution of both predator and prey. Despite their importance, there have been remarkably few attempts to synthesize or even briefly review functional responses. This novel and accessible book fills this gap, clearly demonstrating their crucial role as the link between individuals, evolution, and community properties, representing a highly-integrated and measurable aspect of ecological function. It provides a clear entry point for students, a refresher for more advanced researchers, and a motivator for future research. Predator Ecology is an advanced textbook suitable for graduate students and researchers in ecology and evolutionary biology seeking a broad, up-to-date, and authoritative coverage of the field. It will also be of relevance and use to mathematical ecologists, wildlife biologists, and anyone interested in predator-prey interactions.
Pairwise and diffuse coevolution are defined, with examples that include mutualisms and predator-prey interactions. In any example of coevolution, the costs and benefits to both species involved in the interaction must be assessed in order to understand evolution of the interaction. Models to explain coral bleaching are examined in the context of a coevolutionary mutualism, as are the implications for the possible extinction of coral reefs. Data are examined in order to determine which model is best supported. Other examples of how evolution affects interactions and communities of organisms include adaptation to living in particular habitats and evolution to frequent and somewhat predictable disturbances. For the former, physiological adaptations possessed by some plants to live in low light conditions are described and assessed. Ecological disturbances are defined, and the role of disturbance on evolution of ecological systems is assessed through the use of data. Finally, how time and spatial scales affect disturbances and the evolutionary responses of organisms to disturbances are also examined.
This book emphasises the important role that protozoa play in many natural ecosystems. To shed new light on their individual adaptive skills, the respective chapters examine the ecology and functional biology of this diverse group of eukaryotic microbes. Protozoa are well-established model organisms that exemplify many general problems in population ecology and community ecology, as well as evolutionary biology. Their particular characteristics, like large population sizes, life cycles and motile sensory behaviour, have a profound impact on their survival, distribution, and interaction with other species. Thus, readers will also be introduced to protozoan habitats in a broad range of environments. Even though this group of unicellular organisms is highly diverse, the authors focus on shared ecological patterns. Students and scientists working in the areas of eukaryotic microbiology and ecology will appreciate this updated and revised 2nd Edition as a valuable reference guide to the “lifestyles” of protozoa.