Insect Outbreaks Revisited

The abundance of insects can change dramatically from generation to generation; these generational changes may occur within a growing season or over a period of years. Such extraordinary density changes or "outbreaks" may be abrupt and ostensibly random, or population peaks may occur in a more or less cyclic fashion. They can be hugely destructive when the insect is a crop pest or carries diseases of humans, farm animals, or wildlife. Knowledge of these types of population dynamics and computer models that may help predict when they occur are very important.

This important new book revisits a subject not thoroughly discussed in such a publication since 1988 and brings an international scale to the issue of insect outbreaks.

Insect Outbreaks Revisited is intended for senior undergraduate and graduate students in ecology, population biology and entomology, as well as government and industry scientists doing research on pests, land managers, pest management personnel, extension personnel, conservation biologists and ecologists, and state, county and district foresters.

Pedro Barbosa was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico and raised in Spanish Harlem, in New York City. He received his B.S. in biology from the City College of New York and his M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Pedro's research interests are in theoretical and applied ecology of plant-insect interactions with an emphasis on tri-trophic interactions. He has authored or coauthored many refereed publications, and written or edited 13 books.

Deborah K. Letourneau's Bachelor's, Master's and doctoral degrees are from the University of Michigan and University of California at Berkeley. As Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz her research concerns plant-insect interactions, biodiversity, and environmental risk in the context of decision-making that sustains both livelihoods and the environment.

Anurag A. Agrawal studies the evolutionary ecology of plants and insects as a professor at Cornell University's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Department of Entomology. His work spans community ecology, invasive species, coevolution, and ecological genetics. Please visit his lab website www.herbivory.com for current projects and research.