This book is about disease and death. It is an ecologist's view of Darwin's vivid evocation of Nature, red in tooth and claw. An international team of authors examines broad patterns in the population biology of natural enemies, and addresses general questions about the role of natural enemies in the population dynamics and evolution of their prey. For instance, how do large natural enemies like wolves differ from small natural enemies like bacterial diseases in their effects on prey abundance? Is it better to chase after prey, or sit and wait for it to come to you? How should prey behave in order to minimize the risk of being eaten? The answers are all in this fascinating senior undergraduate/postgraduate text.
Part 1: Background; Evolution of exploiter - victim relationships; Correlates of carnivory: approaches and answers; Population dynamics of natural enemies and their prey; Foraging theory;
Part 2: Population biology of natural enemies; Large carnivores; Birds of prey; Insectivorous mammals; Marine mammals; Marine invertebrates; Predatory arthropods; Bloodsucking arthropods; Spiders as representative sit-and-wait predators; Macroparasites: worms and others; Macroparasites: viruses and bacteria;
Part 3: Synthesis; Predator psychology and the evolution of prey coloration; Natural enemies and community dynamics; Biological control; The dynamics of predator-prey and resource-harvester systems; Prey defence and predator foraging; Overview; References; Index
Michael J. Crawley, FRS, is with the Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. He is the author of three bestselling Wiley statistics titles and five life science books. This book is about disease and death! An international team of experts has been gathered together from the very best names in Zoology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology to present a complete description of the evolution and ecology of all carnivorous organisms from whales and lions, down to virus and bacteria. This is the first volume to to give a complete description of all carnivorous organisms and the first synthesis of the population biology of this diverse group of organisms to tackle the following questions: How do natural enemies affect the distribution and abundance of their prey, and how have natural enemies functioned as agents of natural selection effecting the evolution of behaviour and morphology in their prey?
