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Ecology of Butterflies in Britain

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ISBN-10: 0198540256

ISBN-13: 9780198540250

Edition: 1992

Authors: Roger L. H. Dennis, Derek A. Whiteley

List price: $59.00
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Description:

This new book offers a full-scale treatment of British butterfly ecology. We have not had a comparable source-book for many years, and now it comes at a time when many butterfly populations worldwide, including about half the British species, are in decline. The authors bring together new ideas, facts, and figures from recent studies to discuss individual butterfly behaviour and adaptations; population dynamics, community structure, distributions, and habitats; and the underlyinggenetics and evolutionary pathways. The last chapter focuses on conservation. Information is presented in considerable detail, and the volume includes an extensive glossary, full bibliography, many tables,…    
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Book details

List price: $59.00
Copyright year: 1992
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Publication date: 12/24/1992
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 368
Size: 8.00" wide x 10.25" long x 1.00" tall
Weight: 2.244
Language: English

Roger Dennis was educated at Oswestry School, Shropshire and at Durham University where he was awarded a Scholarship, a Class 1 BA in Geography and where later he obtained his PhD in Human Biology. After a short postdoctoral fellowship at Durham, he taught at The Manchester Grammar School until early retirement in 1993 following a spinal injury. Subsequently, he has received a succession of honorary research fellowships during which he has studied butterfly biogeography and ecology, producing over 175 publications. He is author of 'The British Butterflies. Their Origin and Establishment' (1977), 'Butterflies and Climate Change' (1993), joint author of 'Butterflies on British and Irish…    

List of contributors
Islands, regions, ranges, and gradients
Butterflies on British islands
Butterfly distributions on the British mainland
Focusing on regional and local issues
Adult behaviour
The significance of behaviour patterns
Regulating body temperature
Finding nutrients
Mate-locating behaviour
Communication and courtship
Behaviour and butterfly biology
Eggs and egg-laying
Egg production
Finding and recognizing larval hostplants
Distribution of egg load
Patterns in egg-laying
Butterfly populations
What is a population?
Measuring and monitoring butterfly populations
The structure of butterfly populations
Natural population fluctuations
Mortality factors affecting population size
Avoidance, concealment, and defence
Adult defences
The defences of eggs
The defences of larvae
Adaptations to living near ants
Pupal defences
Butterflies and multiple defence mechanisms
Monitoring butterfly movements
The components of movement
Variability in butterfly movement
Local movements of butterfly adults
Migration and dispersal
Unresolved issues
Butterflies and communities
Biological communities
Resource partitioning and the niche
Interactions between butterflies and other animals
Interactions between butterflies and plants
Diversity, ecological succession, and butterfly communities
Diversity within populations
Genetic variation, natural selection, and evolution
Polymorphism and wing pattern forms
The development of wing patterns
Enzyme polymorphism
Seasonal polyphenism
Life history variation
Case studies in evolution
The meadow brown: continuous variation and adaptation
The large heath: evolution of races
The speckled wood: geographic variation in Europe
An evolutionary history of British butterflies
Evolution before glaciers
Evolution with glaciation
The pattern of butterfly arrivals
Butterfly adaptations to Britain's Post Glacial environments
The evolution of subspecies, races, and character gradients
The conservation of British butterflies
Changing butterfly populations
Causes of decline of British butterflies
Early attempts at conservation
The ecological approach to conservation
Strategies for conservation
Future prospects
Appendix 1 A check list of British butterflies and their hostplants
Appendix 2 Traditional classification of butterfly breeding biotopes in Britain
Appendix 3 (a), (b) Summaries of the Joint Committee for the Conservation of British Insects codes on collecting and insect introductions
Appendix 4 Useful addresses of societies, journals, specialist books; equipment, livestock, and scientific institutions
Glossary
Bibliography
Index