This chapter focuses on the origins and body plan, rise and fall of populations and threats to the continued existence of various insect species. The importance of insect consevation is discussed and various challenges that need to be overcome for the successful conservation of insects are pointed...

This chapter contains questions about the relationship between the genetics and ecology of organisms (including plants and animals), their adaptations to the environment, and their evolution.

Several packages have been developed to allow R-users to work with phylogenetic trees, something that most biologists will need to do at some point in their careers. The most basic is the ape package, which stands for Analysis of Phylogenetics and Evolution. This chapter gives some of the basics of ...

The goal of phylogenetics is to construct relationships that are true representations of the evolutionary history of a group of organisms or genes. The history inferred from phylogenetic analysis is usually depicted as branching in tree-like diagrams or networks. In nematology, phylogenetic studies ...

This introductory chapter provides a brief ecological, evolutionary and historic perspective on parasitism in domestic ruminants. Non-parasitic invertebrates have been present on Earth for hundreds of millions of years, preceding the emergence of vertebrates in the world's fauna. Evidence of...

This is a book about butterfly behaviour. Specifically, the behaviours associated with courtship rituals (described in Chapters 5 and 6) and mating and reproduction (described in Chapters 7 and 8). To understand the ways in which butterflies act as adults in search of mates, it is necessary to...

This chapter provides a brief description of the origins, evolution and taxonomy of various butterfly species. Information on the courtship and mating behaviours of some selected Lepidopterans are also presented.

This chapter describes the interactions between the horse and its digestive tract microbes and the role of mitochondrial genetics on evolution, inheritance and racing performance.

Changes in biotic interactions in the native and invaded range can enable a non-native species to establish and spread in novel environments. Invasive non-native species can in turn generate impacts in recipient systems partly through the changes they impose on biotic interactions; these...

This chapter focuses on how transcriptomics has boosted research in pest science, the lessons it teaches and possible directions for future study. Some of the biggest areas for future research, i.e. transcriptome characterization of insect pests, invasive species and biological control agents,...