Insect Ecology

Contents: Preface. 1. History, definitions and basic concept. 2. Organization of the biological world. 3. Abundance, distribution and diversity of insects. 4. Basic principles of abiotic factors and their generalized action on insects. 5. Implications for abundance and distribution of organisms including insects: law of minimum, law of tolerance and biocoenosis, systems approach to ecology. 6. Basic concepts of abundance, model v/s real world, population growth basic models, exponential v/s logistic models, discrete v/s continuous growth model. 7. Vital statistics: life table and their application in insect biology. 8. Population dynamics-factors affecting abundance-environmental factors, dispersal and migration, seasonality in insects, classification and mechanism of achieving different seasonality-diapauses (quiescence)-aestivation, hibernation. 9. Biotic factors: food is a limiting factors for distribution and abundance, nutritional ecology. 10. Food chain: web and ecological succession. 11. Interspecific competition: lotka-volterra model. 12. Concept of niche: ecological homologous competitive exclusion prey-predators interactions defence mechanism against predators/Parasitoids-evolution of mimicry, colouration, defense mechanism against predators/parasitoids. 13. Community ecology: concept of guild, organization of community. 14. Relative distribution of organism, concept of diversity: the Wallacian view. 15. Assessment of diversity, diversity stability, debate relevance to pest management. 16. Pest management as applied ecology. Index. 

The present book is a compilation of various chapters of insect Ecology: The book explains about abiotic and biotic factors affecting insect activities in the diversity. The book also contains the matter related with course curriculum of post graduate and Ph.D. studies. All the chapters are simplified to make easy for the students for their study. This book is a sincere attempt to solve the problems of the students and faculties attempting to learn and teach insect ecology respectively. Non-availability of all the contents in a single book is a common problem which has incited us to collect the relevant matter and compile them into a single book designed especially for the students of insect ecology covering the syllabi of varied Universities as far as possible. The book entitled “Insect Ecology” aims at clarity each chapter to make it meaningful and easier. This text is intended to stimulate further integration of these approaches in experiments that address insect roles in agro-ecosystems.