Price, Denno, Eubanks, Finke, and Kaplan
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
2011; 801 pages
ISBN: 978-0-521-54260-9
Price: $85 (soft cover)

Insect Ecology by Peter Price has been a standard text for entomology students since it was first published in 1975. Two updated editions were released as of 1997, but as that year grew more distant, Dr. Price initiated another update, teaming up with Robert Denno to create a new version. Unfortunately, Dr. Denno passed away unexpectedly in 2008, leaving a sizable void in insect ecology in general and this publication in particular. Into this void have stepped Denno’s many students and collaborators, who are carrying on his research questions and spirit. Notably, three of his former graduate students (Micky Eubanks, Debbie Finke, and Ian Kaplan) also stepped in to help Price finish the latest version of Insect Ecology, which has emerged as the first edition of Insect Ecology: Behavior, Populations and Communities.

The new Insect Ecology appears to be more simplified and more directed than its venerable predecessor, which had 24 chapters separated into four parts (Introduction, Trophic Relationships, Populations, and Communities and Distributions). The newest version comprises 15 chapters gathered into six parts. Part I (the Introduction) has a single chapter that describes the diversity and importance of insects and studying insect ecology. Part II (Behavioral Ecology) has two chapters: one addresses insect behavior, mating systems, and sexual selection, while the other focuses on the ecology and evolution of social insects. Part III has five chapters (4-8) addressing species interactions spanning plant-herbivore interactions, lateral interactions (competition, amensalism, and facilitation), mutualisms, predator-prey interactions, and parasite-host interactions.

Part IV has three chapters focusing on population ecology. These address demography, population growth, and life tables (Chapter 9), life histories (Chapter 10), and population dynamics (Chapter 11). Part V addresses food webs with two chapters covering community structure and multitrophic interactions. Part VI (Broad Patterns in Nature) concludes the book with chapters on biological diversity and global patterns and processes, including climate change, that influence insect populations and their ecological relationships, as well as ways that insects influence global processes.

The authors designed the book to be covered in a one-semester insect ecology course, which would typically take about 15 weeks. Consistent with this approach, each part starts with an overview of the coming chapters and a few details of the theme that groups them together. Each chapter begins with a more focused overview and then finishes with an “Application” section, discussing an applied angle relevant to the concepts and theory covered in the chapter; a “Summary” emphasizing the most important concepts; “Questions and Discussion Topics” to prompt further consideration of the theories and concepts; and then “Further Reading.” All of these features could nicely feed into a course offering a full consideration of Insect Ecology. As revealed in the Preface, this book is meant for “advanced undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and other kinds of researchers.” The color plates that have been added are a nice touch.

Much of the classic material from Price’s Insect Ecology is revisited in Price et al., but necessary additions and updates have been made to keep current with the progress of recent research. For example, nearly four pages of text in Chapter 13 (Multitrophic Interactions) are dedicated to herbivore-induced plant volatiles, an area of research that has expanded substantially since 1997. Moreover, community genetics, a field that has received much attention in recent years, is given nice coverage using the cottonwood research system as a mini-case study (Chapter 12: Community Structure).

As with any book covering such a broad subject, some current research areas are only thinly covered while others are overly represented. Standard pollination, for example, seems to be given short shrift as most of the discussion focuses on more intricate or other less well-known mutualisms. This apparent deficiency is perhaps understandable as whole texts can be found addressing the details of pollination, pollinators, and the relevant ecological relationships. Gall insects, on the other hand, seem to be raised in many research examples, likely due to Price’s research interest in this fascinating group of insect species, but one must wonder how often gall insects represent the ecological exception rather than the rule.

While one can always find ways to quibble with material covered, these issues are minor—any readers wishing to delve more deeply into specific research areas will benefit greatly from extensive citations (125 pages of references) and the “Further Reading” sections—and the fact remains that this new book provides a needed update to a classic text. Moreover, it has been smartly revised to provide a detailed consideration of insect ecology within a teaching framework. And while the listing of Denno as an author reminds us of his premature passing, the teamwork between Price and Bob’s former students, and especially their willingness to jump in and finish the project, provides a good backstory on the collaboration often necessary to conduct meaningful work in insect ecology. I am sure this text will quickly become a reference of choice for a new generation of insect ecologists.

John F. Tooker
Department of Entomology
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: tooker@psu.edu

American Entomologist
Vol. 58, No.4, Winter 2012