Kenneth F. Haynes – författare

This second volume of a two-volume set describes special techniques in chemical ecology, both field and laboratory including: wind tunnels, GC-EAD techniques and other electrophysiological techniques, trapping studies, olfactometers and feeding bioassays. The second section in this volume is taxonomically organized, discussing intraspecific (pheromones) and interspecific (kairomones) communication as applied to plant-plant, insect-plant, insect-animal, and animal-animal interactions.

This volume consists of chemical and biological assays applicable to all five parts of the biological world. This first volume of a two-volume set details the applicability of chemical ecological techniques to investigate problems in the interactions between and among species and points to present limitations. The book is practical, with emphasis on planning, design, and execution of experiments. It points out the advantages and limitations of various techniques, the types and amounts of information to be gained from particular techniques, as well as practical experimental details as to how to prepare and execute various bioassays and procedures. This book should be of interest to graduate students and professional ecologists interested in the natural product-based chemical interactions between plants and animals and between animals and other animals.

Identification of chemicals that affect the naturally occurring interactions be­ tween organisms requires sophisticated chemical techniques, such as those docu­ mented in volume 1, in combination with effective bioassays. Without an effective bioassay, the identification becomes akin to looking for a needle in a haystack, but without any idea of what a needle looks like. To a large extent serniochemical identifications must be driven by bioassays. The design of bioassays for use in chemical ecology is governed by the sometimes conflicting objectives of ecological relevance and the need for simplic­ ity. Bioassay design should be based on observations of the interactions between organisms in their natural context, a theme that appears throughout this volume. As a result, this volume is as much about ecology and behavior as it is about specific methods. It is impossible to design a relevant bioassay, whether it is simple or complex, without understanding at least the fundamentals of how chemical cues or signals mediate the interaction in nature. Thus, the development of bioassay methods must be driven by an understanding of ecology and a knowledge of the natural history of the organisms under study. Given such an understanding, it is often possible to design assays that are both ecologically relevant and easy to perform.