The Symbiotic Habit

Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-691-11341-8
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 214 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 429 g

Throughout the natural world, organisms have responded to predators, inadequate resources, or inclement conditions by forming ongoing mutually beneficial partnerships--or symbioses--with different species. Symbiosis is the foundation for major evolutionary events, such as the emergence of eukaryotes and plant eating among vertebrates, and is also a crucial factor in shaping many ecological communities. The Symbiotic Habit provides an accessible and authoritative introduction to symbiosis, describing how symbioses are established, function, and persist in evolutionary and ecological time. Angela Douglas explains the evolutionary origins and development of symbiosis, and illustrates the principles of symbiosis using a variety of examples of symbiotic relationships as well as nonsymbiotic ones, such as parasitic or fleeting mutualistic associations. Although the reciprocal exchange of benefit is the key feature of symbioses, the benefits are often costly to provide, causing conflict among the partners. Douglas shows how these conflicts can be managed by a single controlling organism that may selectively reward cooperative partners, control partner transmission, and employ recognition mechanisms that discriminate between beneficial and potentially harmful or ineffective partners. The Symbiotic Habit reveals the broad uniformity of symbiotic process across many different symbioses among organisms with diverse evolutionary histories, and demonstrates how symbioses can be used to manage ecosystems, enhance food production, and promote human health.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Douglas, Angela E.

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Tierökologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Tierphysiologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Ökologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Tierkunde / Zoologie Wirbellose (Invertebrata) Insekten (Entomologie)
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Evolutionsbiologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface vii

Chapter 1: The Significance of Symbiosis 1

Chapter 2: Evolutionary Origins and Fates of Organisms in Symbiosis 24

Chapter 3: Conflict and Conflict Resolution 56

Chapter 4: Choosing and Chosen: Establishment and Persistence of Symbioses 91

Chapter 5: The Success of Symbiosis 125

Chapter 6: Perspectives 164

References 171

Index 193

Über Autor(innen)

Douglas, Angela E.
Angela E. Douglas is the Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Professor of Insect Physiology and Toxicology at Cornell University. She is the author of "Symbiotic Interactions" and the coauthor of "The Biology of Symbiosis".