The beauty and grace of butterflies have long captivated people around the world, but their diversity and complexity have drawn the special attention of amateur and professional scientists since at least the time of Darwin. Thanks to this long history of research, more is known about butterflies than is known about almost any other group of insects. In "Butterflies: Ecology and Evolution Taking Flight", the world's leading experts synthesize current knowledge of butterflies to show how the study of these fascinating creatures as model systems can lead to deeper understanding of ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes in general. The 26 chapters are organized into broad functional areas, covering the uses of butterflies in the study of behaviour, ecology, genetics and evolution, systematics, and conservation biology. Especially in the context of the current biodiversity crisis, this book shows how results found with butterflies can help us understand large, rapid changes in the world we share with them - for example, geographic distributions of some butterflies have begun to shift in response to global warming, giving early evidence of climate change that scientists, politicians and citizens alike should heed. The first international synthesis of butterfly biology in two decades, "Butterflies: Ecology and Evolution Taking Flight" offers students, scientists and amateur naturalists a concise overview of the latest developments in the field. Furthermore, it articulates an exciting new perspective of the whole group of approximately 15,000 species of butterflies as a comprehensive model system for all the sciences concerned with biodiversity and its preservation.
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This overview of developments in the field articulates a new perspective of the whole group of approximately 15,000 species of butterfles as a comprehensive model system for all the sciences concerned with biodiversity.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780226063171
Publisert
2003-07-01
Utgiver
Vendor
University of Chicago Press
Vekt
1774 gr
Høyde
260 mm
Bredde
187 mm
Dybde
44 mm
Aldersnivå
06, P
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
736