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The Anatomy of Palms: Arecaceae - Palmae

P. Barry Tomlinson, James W. Horn, and Jack B. Fisher

Palms are an economically important group of plants and support major agronomic and horticultural industries, quite apart from their regional use in the cultures of many tropical countries as sources ... More

Palms are an economically important group of plants and support major agronomic and horticultural industries, quite apart from their regional use in the cultures of many tropical countries as sources of food, fibre, and building materials. Although easily recognized and limited by a lack of secondary growth, they range widely in size, life form, and habitat. This book provides a survey of the structure and vegetative anatomy of members of the palm family (Arecaceae or Palmae) and uses the most recent molecular phylogenetic treatment of the family as the basis for interpreting the systematic and ecological significance of anatomical characters. The first section starts with a description of the often distinctive anatomical techniques used, followed by the principles of palm development, a series of chapters on the microscopic anatomy of all the main organs, and finally an analysis of how these structures might have evolved. The second section documents the systematic anatomical variation found in the subfamilies, tribes, and subtribes. The internal structure of all vegetative organs is reviewed, although lamina anatomy is emphasized. In those cases where genera are anatomically distinctive, they are described in detail. The intrinsic novelty of this approach is the innovative synthesis of the latest structural information for all genera of palms, set in a contemporary molecular phylogenetic context.Less

Anatomy of the Monocotyledons Volume X: Orchidaceae

William Louis Stern

Mary Gregory and David F. Cutler (eds)

For many years orchids have been among the most popular of ornamental plants, with thousands of species and hybrids cultivated worldwide for the diversity, beauty, and intricacy of their flowers. ... More

For many years orchids have been among the most popular of ornamental plants, with thousands of species and hybrids cultivated worldwide for the diversity, beauty, and intricacy of their flowers. This book presents over thirty years of research. It describes the structure and relationships among the cells and tissues of leaves, stems, and roots, and is organized systematically in line with the taxonomy expressed in the Genera Orchidacearum Series. The book is illustrated with over 100 photomicrographs and numerous original line drawings.Less

Bee Pollination in Agricultural Ecosystems

Rosalind James and Theresa L. Pitts-Singer (eds)

Bees play a vital role as pollinators for many agricultural crops. This book discusses the interplay between bees, agriculture, and the environment. Although honey bees are well recognized as ... More

Bees play a vital role as pollinators for many agricultural crops. This book discusses the interplay between bees, agriculture, and the environment. Although honey bees are well recognized as pollinators, managed bumble bees and solitary bees are also critical for the successful pollination of certain crops, while wild bees provide a free service. As bees liberally pass pollen from one plant to the next, they also impact the broader ecosystem, and not always to the benefit of humankind. Bees can enhance the unintentional spread of genes from genetically engineered plants, and may increase the spread of invasive weeds. Conversely, genetically engineered plants can impact pollinators, and invasive weeds can supply new sources of food for these insects. Bees' flower-visiting activities also can be exploited to spread biological control agents that help to control crop pests. Bee pollination is important for production of native plants used for restoration of wild lands. Managing bees for pollination is complex and must consider bee natural history, physiology, pathology, and behavior. Furthermore, transporting bees from native ranges to new areas for pollination services can be controversial, and should be done only after assuring that a non-native bee introduction will not disrupt the ecosystem. Even though bees are small, unobtrusive creatures, they play large roles in the ecosystem. The connection between bees and humankind is symbolic of a broader interconnection between humans and the natural world.Less

A Caribbean Forest Tapestry: The Multidimensional Nature of Disturbance and Response

Nicholas Brokaw, Todd Crowl, Ariel Lugo, William McDowell, Frederick Scatena, Robert Waide, and Michael Willig (eds)

Global change threatens ecosystems worldwide, and tropical systems with their high diversity and rapid development are of special concern. We can mitigate the impacts of change if we understand how ... More

Global change threatens ecosystems worldwide, and tropical systems with their high diversity and rapid development are of special concern. We can mitigate the impacts of change if we understand how tropical ecosystems respond to disturbance. For tropical forests and streams in Puerto Rico this book describes the impacts of, and recovery from, hurricanes, landslides, floods, droughts, and human disturbances in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. These ecosystems recover quickly after natural disturbances, having been shaped over thousands of years by such events. Human disturbance, however, has longer-lasting impacts. Chapters reflect many years of experience in Puerto Rico and other tropical areas and cover the history of research in these mountains, a framework for understanding disturbance and response, the environmental setting, the disturbance regime, response to disturbance, biotic mechanisms of response, management implications, and future directions. The text provides a strong perspective on tropical ecosystem dynamics over multiple scales of time and space.Less

Carnivorous Plants: Physiology, ecology, and evolution

Aaron Ellison and Lubomír Adamec (eds)

Carnivorous plants have fascinated botanists, evolutionary biologists, ecologists, physiologists, developmental biologists, anatomists, horticulturalists, and the general public for centuries. ... More

Carnivorous plants have fascinated botanists, evolutionary biologists, ecologists, physiologists, developmental biologists, anatomists, horticulturalists, and the general public for centuries. Charles Darwin was the first scientist to demonstrate experimentally that some plants could actually attract, kill, digest, and absorb nutrients from insect prey; his book Insectivorous Plants (1875) remains a widely cited classic. Subsequent monographs by Lloyd (1942) and Juniper et al. (1989) summarized and synthesized available scientific data on these remarkable plants. Scientific investigations and understanding of carnivorous plants has evolved and changed dramatically in the nearly 30 years since Juniper et al’s Carnivorous Plants was published, and thousands of scientific papers on carnivorous plants have appeared in the academic literature. In putting together this fourth major work on the biology of carnivorous plants, Ellison and Adamec have assembled the world’s leading experts to provide a truly modern synthesis. The contributing authors examine every aspect of systematics, physiology, biochemistry, genomics, ecology, and evolution of what Darwin called ‘the most wonderful plants in the world,’ and describe the serious threats they now face from over-collection, poaching, habitat loss, and climatic change, which directly threaten their habitats and continued persistence in them. This accessible text is suitable for senior undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers in plant biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. It will also be of relevance and use to horticulturalists and carnivorous plant enthusiasts.Less

Dipterocarp Biology, Ecology, and Conservation

Jaboury Ghazoul

Asian tropical forests are among the most diverse on the planet, a richness that belies the fact that they are dominated by a single tropical tree family, the Dipterocarpaceae. Many other families ... More

Asian tropical forests are among the most diverse on the planet, a richness that belies the fact that they are dominated by a single tropical tree family, the Dipterocarpaceae. Many other families contribute to Asia’s natural diversity, but few compare to the dipterocarps in the number and variety of species that occupy the forest canopy. Understanding the ecology and dynamics of Asian forests is, to a very great extent, a study of the Dipterocarpaceae. This book synthesizes current knowledge on the dipterocarps. The family is explored through ecological, evolutionary, and biogeographic perspectives. The variety of dipterocarp forest formations in both the ever-wet and seasonal tropics is described, with due consideration given to the poorly known African and South American dipterocarp species. The considerable progress on the phylogeny and biogeography of the family is synthesized. A chapter on dipterocarp reproductive ecology, and particularly masting behaviour, reflects the considerable research interest attributed to this subject and its importance in shaping the ecology of Asian lowland rain forests in particular. Ecophysiological responses to light, water, and nutrients, which underlie mechanisms that maintain dipterocarp species richness, are addressed in separate chapters. At broader scales, dipterocarp responses to variation in soil, topography, climate, and natural disturbance regimes are explored from population and community perspectives in two additional chapters. The book concludes with a consideration of the economic values of dipterocarps and the recent and ongoing threats to dipterocarp forests. Looking to the future, a scientific foundation is required to capitalize on opportunities for conservation and restoration, and it is this to which this book aims to contribute.Less

Dispersal in Plants: A Population Perspective

Roger Cousens, Calvin Dytham, and Richard Law

Ecologists, both practical and theoretical, now appreciate that to understand biological systems they must consider the spatial dimension. Consequently, dispersal has become one of the hottest topics ... More

Ecologists, both practical and theoretical, now appreciate that to understand biological systems they must consider the spatial dimension. Consequently, dispersal has become one of the hottest topics in plant ecology. However, in the midst of so much research output on dispersal, there is a need for a stock-take to determine the needs of future research: what has been achieved to date, where do current studies fit in, and what still needs to be determined? What are the implications of dispersal for those engaged in managing plant populations and communities? This is the first book for many years to present a synthesis of research on dispersal and its implications for plant population dynamics. The book consists of three sections: Section A reviews information on the biological and environmental processes that determine the path of an individual dispersing propagule, usually a seed, and the theory that has been developed to predict these trajectories; Section B discusses the distributions of seeds resulting from dispersal from an entire plant, theoretical research predicting the shapes of these distributions and design issues for future dispersal studies; Section C explores the implications of dispersal for expansion of populations, structure within existing populations and communities, and the evolution of dispersal traits.Less

Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin

Daniel Zohary, Maria Hopf, and Ehud Weiss

The origin of agriculture is one of the defining events of human history. Some 11,000-10,000 years ago bands of hunter-gatherers started to abandon their high-mobility lifestyles in favour of growing ... More

The origin of agriculture is one of the defining events of human history. Some 11,000-10,000 years ago bands of hunter-gatherers started to abandon their high-mobility lifestyles in favour of growing crops, and the creation of settled, sedentary communities. This shift into an agricultural lifestyle triggered the evolution of complex political and economic structures, and technological developments, and ultimately underpinned the rise of all the great civilisations of recent human history. This book reviews and synthesises the information on the origins and domestication of cultivated plants in the Old World, and subsequently the spread of cultivation from southwest Asia into Asia, Europe, and North Africa, from the very earliest beginnings. This book is mainly based on detailed consideration of two lines of evidence: the plant remains found at archaeological sites, and the knowledge that has accumulated about the present-day wild relatives of domesticated plants. This new edition revises and updates previous data and incorporates the most recent findings from molecular biology about the genetic relations between domesticated plants and their wild ancestors, and incorporates extensive new archaeological data about the spread of agriculture within the region. The reference list has been completely updated, as have the list of archaeological sites and the site maps.Less

Ecological Methods in Forest Pest Management

David Wainhouse

This book aims to provide a critical appraisal of the theory and practice of key methods of forest pest management. The appropriate application of these ‘ecological methods’ in the development of ... More

This book aims to provide a critical appraisal of the theory and practice of key methods of forest pest management. The appropriate application of these ‘ecological methods’ in the development of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programmes depends on a clear understanding of pest biology and population dynamics, and an appreciation of the ecology and economic importance of both semi-natural and plantation forests. These aspects provide a focus for discussion throughout the book. The main themes of the first four chapters are the influence of forest composition and structure on the nature and severity of pest problems, the threat posed by the introduction of exotic pests in global trade, how risk-rating of forests can provide an early warning of outbreaks, and the role that silviculture can play in both contributing to and helping to reduce the impact of pests. The following four chapters discuss in turn the nature of tree resistance and its exploitation, the principles and practice of biological and microbial control, and the use of semiochemicals in manipulating insect populations. The final chapter on IPM includes a discussion of the economic and environmental impact of pests, with practical examples of IPM illustrated in a series of case studies. The potential impact of climate change is briefly discussed. Many of the examples and case studies relate to insect pests, but the term ‘pest’ is used in its widest sense to include fungal pathogens. Brief reference is also made to mammalian herbivores.Less

Floral Mimicry

Steven D. Johnson and Florian P. Schiestl

Mimicry is a classic example of adaptation through natural selection. The traditional focus of mimicry research has been on defense in animals (protective mimicry), but there is now also a highly ... More

Mimicry is a classic example of adaptation through natural selection. The traditional focus of mimicry research has been on defense in animals (protective mimicry), but there is now also a highly developed and rapidly growing body of research on floral mimicry in plants. Being literally rooted to one spot, plants generally have to use food bribes to cajole animals into acting as couriers for their pollen. Plants that lack these food rewards often deploy elaborate color and scent signals in order to mimic food sources, oviposition sites, or mating partners of particular animals, and thereby exploit these animals for the purposes of pollination. This book addresses the question of whether the evolutionary and ecological principles that were developed for protective mimicry in animals also apply to floral mimicry in plants. Visual, olfactory, and tactile signals can all be important in floral mimicry systems. The traditional focus has been on visual cues, but there is increasing evidence that some forms of mimicry, notably sexual and oviposition-site mimicry, are largely based on chemical cues. The molecular basis for these signals, their role in cognitive misclassification of flowers by pollinators, and the implications of these signals for plant speciation are among the topics covered in the book. The chapters of this book are designed to highlight particular systems of floral mimicry and to integrate them into the broader theory of mimicry.Less