| Physical description |
322 pages : il1. ; 28cm |
| Notes |
Includes index. |
| Bibliography |
Bibliography. |
| Contents |
Chapter 1 What Good Are Mites? 1 -- Why study mites? 2 -- What is a mite? 3 -- What follows? 4 -- Chapter 2 Origin of Mites: Fossil History and Relationships 8 -- Cambrian explosion and the rise of the Chelicerata 9 -- Marine merostomes 11 -- Origin of the arachnids - a palaeofantasy 12 -- Arachnids and the colonisation of land 14 -- Fossil mites 15 -- Arachnid relatives of mites 16 -- Chapter 3 Systematic and Morphological Survey 20 -- Opilioacariformes - the missing link? 21 -- Parasitiformes - ticks and their relatives 23 -- Acariformes - the mite-like mites 25 -- How do mites do the things they do? 26 -- Chapter 4 Life Cycles, Development and Size 33 -- Oviposition 34 -- Postembryonic development 36 -- Size, developmental rate and generation times 46 -- Dispersal, migration and phoresy 52 -- Chapter 5 Sex and Celibacy 57 -- Modes of sperm transfer 58 -- Diversity of sperm-transfer behaviours in mites 61 -- Spermatophore structure and function 73 -- Sexual selection 75 -- Parthenogenesis 86 -- Chapter 6 Mites in Detritus and Soil Systems 94 -- Mites and the rhizosphere 95 -- Deep soil 96 -- Mites and decomposition 96 -- Soil mites in a simple system: Antarctica 97 -- Feeding guilds and functional groups 103 -- Predation in the soil 112 -- Avoiding predation - defences of mites and mite prey 117 -- Acarophagy - mites as food for larger animals 121 -- Enigma of soil biodiversity 124 -- Sensitivity and diversity - soil mites as environmental indicators 129 -- Chapter 7 Acari Underwater, or, Why Did Mites Take the Plunge? 132 -- Taxonomic distribution of secondarily aquatic arthropods 133 -- Repeated invasions of water 134 -- Number of invasions into different aquatic habitats 137 -- (Pre)adaptations to subaquatic life 141 -- Predation on water mites - the correlation between foul taste and bright colour 155 -- Locomotion 160 -- Sensitivity and diversity - water mites as environmental indicators 164 -- Chapter 8 Mites on Plants 169 -- Mites on plants - where do they come from? 170 -- Plant parasites 170 -- Hunting on leaves 179 -- Mites and leaf domatia 183 -- Phylloplane scavengers and fungivores 189 -- Mites and biological control 193 -- Chapter 9 Animals as Habitats 198 -- Types of ecological interactions 199 -- Evolutionary pathways between interactions 202 -- Life with invertebrates 208 -- Life with vertebrates 226 -- Effects of parasitic mites on their hosts 238 -- Mite-host coevolution: any evidence? 248 -- Chapter 10 Mites and Biological Diversity 255 -- Mites and microhabitats 256 -- Mites and complementarity 257 -- Size and biodiversity 259 -- Host specificity, size and diversity 260 -- Chapter 11 Mites as Models 264 -- Theoretical and applied population ecology 265 -- Evolution of host specificity and virulence 266 -- Sexual selection and diversification 267 -- Devolution of sex 267 -- Pushing the limits of physiology and morphology 268 -- Selection at more than one level 268. |
| Summary |
There are over 40 000 named species of mite, and if estimates for unnamed species are included, then up to 1 million may grace our planet. By comparison, there are approximately 40 000 species of vertebrates, half of them fish, alive today. Mites are predators, parasites, herbivores and detritivores. They live in the dark depths of the ocean, in the lungs of birds, on the leaves of rainforest plants, and in human clothes and bedding. They are vectors of disease, vital players in soil formation, and important agents of biological control. Despite the grand diversity of mites, these small arthropods are often overlooked, and even trained biologists can be unaware of their significance. |
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This book aims to fill the gap in our understanding of these intriguing creatures. It surveys life cycles, feeding behaviour, reproductive biology, and host-associations of mites, without requiring prior knowledge of their morphology or taxonomy. Topics covered include evolution of mites and other arachnids, mites in soil and water, mites on plants and animals, sperm transfer and reproduction, and mites as models of ecological and evolutionary theories. It is essential reading for acarologists, and of great interest to anyone studying biology, zoology, and ecology. |
| Other author |
Proctor, Heather Coreen, 1964-
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| Subject |
Plant mites -- Ecology.
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Plant mites -- Behavior -- Evolution.
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Water mites -- Ecology.
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Water mites -- Behavior -- Evolution.
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Mites.
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Mites -- Evolution.
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Mites -- Ecology.
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Mites -- Behavior.
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| ISBN |
0868405299 (UNSW Press) |
|
0851993753 (CABI) |
|
0868405299 $49.95 (hbk) |
|
0851993753 No price |
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