Parasitoid Population Biology

"I have often been asked what are the interesting questions to study in host-parasitoid biology, and this volume suggests a large number in a variety of different fields. In so doing, it will interest a wider audience than simply scientists working specifically in host-parasitoid biology. For both, however, the book will stimulate new research ideas. By looking forward, as well as reviewing the past, Parasitoid Population Biology makes for a novel, interesting, and timely addition to the field."--Howard Wilson, Biology Department, Imperial College"The underlying rationale for "Parasitoid Population Biology"--the need to question our current understanding of parasitoid population biology--is a laudable one. The editors and contributors are recognized experts at the international level, and are at the cutting edge of parasitoid population biology research. As such, they are well placed to assess the current state of the subject. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, and I expect to consult it frequently in my own research and teaching."--Mark Jervis, Cardiff University"Hochberg and Ives have brought together a group of leading researchers to remind populations biologists of every stripe of the unparalleled opportunity that parasitoids offer for studying the integration of ecology and evolution. In no other animal group is resource acquisition (i.e., foraging for hosts) so tightly linked to reproduction (i.e., oviposition into those hosts). As the chapters of this book convincingly demonstrate, this linkage between foraging and reproducing in parasitoids leads to tractable theories that connect life history variations to population regulation and community structure in both spaceand time. Although parasitoids are not without difficulties as experimental subjects, several authors show the wealth of empirical information already available as well as point to forthcoming innovations that will make parasiHochberg, Michael E. is the author of 'Parasitoid Population Biology' with ISBN 9780691049816 and ISBN 0691049815.