On the Wings of Checkerspots

A Model System for Population Biology

Edited by Paul R. Ehrlich and Ilkka Hanski

On the Wings of Checkerspots

A Model System for Population Biology

Edited by Paul R. Ehrlich and Ilkka Hanski

Description

Hanski, a leading thinker in metapopulation ecology, studies checkerspot butterfly populations in Finland. Ehrlich, one of the leading ecologists and conservation biologist, investigates checkerspot butterfly populations in California. This book reports on and synthsizes the major long-term research of both workers' careers on the population biology of checkerspot butterflies.

On the Wings of Checkerspots

A Model System for Population Biology

Edited by Paul R. Ehrlich and Ilkka Hanski

Personal Prefaces, Paul R. Ehrlich and Ilkka Hanski
1. Checkerspot Research: Background and Origins, Paul R. Ehrlich and Ilkka Hanski
2. Introducing Checkerspots: Taxonomy and Research, Dennis D. Murphy, Niklas Wahlberg, Ilkka Hanski, Paul R. Ehrlich
3. Structure and Dynamics of Euphydryas edith Populations, Jessica J. Hellmann, Stuart B. Weiss, John F. McLaughlin, Paul R. Ehrlich, Dennis D. Murhpy, and Alan E. Launer
4. Structure and Dynamics of Melitea cinxia Metapopulations
5. Checkerspot Reproductive Biology, Carol L. Boggs and Marko Nieminen
6. Oviposition Preference: Its Measurement, its Correlates and its Importance in the Life of Checkerspots, Michael C. Singer
7. Larval Biology of Checkerspots, Mikko Kuussaari, Saskya van Nouhuys, Jessican Hellmann, and Michael C. Singer
8. Natural Enemies of Checkerspots, Saskya van Nouhuys and Ilkka Hanski
9. Dispersal Behavior and Evolutionary Metapopulation Dynamics, Michael C. Singer and Ilkka Hanski
10. Genetics of Checkerspot Populations, Ilik J. Saccheri, Carol L. Boggs, Ilkka Hanski, Paul R. Ehrlich
11. Bay Checkerspot and Glanville Fritillary Compared with Other Species, Niklas Wahlberg, Paul R. Ehrlich, Carol L. Boggs, and Ilkka Hanski
12. Checkerspots as a Model System in Population Biology, Ilkka Hanski, Jessica J. Hellmann, Carol L. Boggs, and John F. McLaughlin
13. Checkerspots and Conservation Biology, Ilkka Hanski, Paul R. Ehrlich, Marko Nieminen, Dennis D. Murphy, Jessica J. Hellmann, Carol L. Boggs, and John F. McLaughlin
14. What have we Learned?, Paul R. Ehrlich, Ilkka Hanski, and Carol L. Boggs
15. Afterword: A Look to the Future, Ilkka Hanski and Paul R. Ehrlich
Acknowledgements

On the Wings of Checkerspots

A Model System for Population Biology

Edited by Paul R. Ehrlich and Ilkka Hanski

Reviews and Awards

"Checkerspot butterflies are rightly celebrated in this book as important model organisms for applied conservation, as well as for our basic understanding in population biology. This is a very nicely edited and professionally produced book that is an important and useful review of checkerspot work over the past 40 years." -- TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution

"To cite the editors' ultimate purpose, the major intellectual challenge of population biology "is understanding the functioning of natural populations - how they are distributed and structured, how and why their sizes change, and how they evolove." In many respects, the book offers basic insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of insect populations generally, not just of checkerspots, and thus forms a classic of modern biology." -- Nature

"The book is well written, well produced, and error free... Overall, this is an excellent book, even for those that do not have a strong interest in population dynamics. The history of the projects, the biology of the butterflies, and the philosophies promoted are worthy of anybody's time." -- BioScience

"...although the book is an edited volume with 15 contributors, it was obviously well planned and reads more like the work of a single author. Its structure could be a model for anyone wanting to write an overview of their particular research system. I strongly recommend On the Wings of Checkerspots to anyone interested in evolution, ecology, or entertaining and interesting stories about butterflies." -- Science

"This book should be required reading for all conservation biologists." -- Science