Jacqueline L. Robertson, Robert M. Russell,
Haiganoush K. Preisler and N. E. Savin, eds.CRC Press,
Boca Raton, FL, 2007, 224 pp.,
$90.00 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-8493-2331-7

Even as an insect pathologist, the prospect of reading an entire book on the proper performance and data analysis of arthropod bioassays was not a task I envisioned myself absolutely enjoying. Although the topic is one that I am very much interested in, at least for me, it was not the type of book that I expected to have trouble putting down. Much to my surprise, I found Bioassays with Arthropods, 2nd Edition to be not only tremendously informative but also a pleasure to read. In the preface, Jacqueline L. Robertson outlines the authors' desire to write a textbook that enhances readability and keeps readers interested in the subject matter. Mission accomplished!

Each chapter of the text begins with the main character, Dr. Paula Maven, in a somewhat eccentric situation. Dr. Maven is a factious character with no previous experience in pest management, but she has accepted a research appointment to establish an integrated pest management program for tomatoes. Our introduction to Dr. Maven begins in chapter 1 where she is interested in performing her first bioassay to find a dose of insect growth regulator to control populations of Ascalapha giganticus; a factious insect resulting from bioterrorism that is wreaking havoc on tomatoes. This undertaking sounds deceivingly simple enough. However, Paula quickly encounters the most basic of problems when performing a laboratory bioassay, how to keep the insects alive in the laboratory and how to collect or rear them in sufficient numbers to perform meaningful bioassays. Paula's first bioassay is a complete failure in terms of establishing a dose-response relationship, but it is successful in helping her identify her deficiencies. Help is available in the form of Dr. Garland Tarleton. Paula attends Dr. Tarleton's 1-d workshop where the lesson is on quantal response bioassays. From this workshop, Paula gains an appreciation for the basics of performing a bioassay, including experimental design, experimental units, randomization, treatments, controls, replication, order of treatments within a replication and the use of computer programs to lighten the burden of data analysis. From the basic knowledge and experience gained from Dr. Tarleton's course, Paula and her assistant begin down the road of gathering bioassay data useful in the development of a control program for A. giganticus.

At first, the questions can be addressed with simple binary quantal response bioassays with one explanatory variable. As the infestation worsens and A. giganticus becomes an ever-increasing problem for tomato growers, Dr. Maven is forced to answer additional questions, including natural variation in response, quarantine statistics, pesticide resistance, chemical mixtures, speed of kill, binary quantal response with multiple explanatory variables, effect of erroneous assumptions about body weight, and finally multinomial quantal response. Throughout the process Dr. Maven's knowledge builds on her previous set of experiments, just as it does for all of us genuine scientists performing bioassays. As Paula leads us through each type of assay, the reader is provided not only with the correct design but also statistical equations with clear explanations of their meaning. The authors also provide guidance on the use of LeOra Software, including PoloPlus, PoloMix, PoloDose, and PoloEncore, for straightforward, user-friendly statistical analysis. It is this step by step process throughout the book that is so helpful in tying all of these complex topics together into a story that is fun to read. I found myself anxious to see how Paula would avert the next obstacle that A. giganticus put in her way.

Robertson, Russell, Preisler, and Saven have put together a wonderful reference text for both beginning and experienced researchers. As they state in chapter 1, "Mindless experimental design that results in data subjected to equally mindless analyses is a waste of time and resources." This text is a good reminder for all of us performing bioassays that assumptions made in the past may or may not be true, and not all data sets can be subjected to the same analyses that were used previously simply because we know how to perform them.

Denny Bruck
Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory,
USDA-ARS, Corvallis, OR 97330,
E-mail: denny.bruck@ars.usda.gov.
 

Journal of Economic Entomology
Vol. 102, No. 1, February 2006, Page 466 - 466