Pollination and Floral Ecology

Pollination and Floral Ecology is the most comprehensive single-volume reference to all aspects of pollination biology—and the first fully up-to-date resource of its kind to appear in decades. This beautifully illustrated book describes how flowers use colors, shapes, and scents to advertise themselves; how they offer pollen and nectar as rewards; and how they share complex interactions with beetles, birds, bats, bees, and other creatures. The ecology of these interactions is covered in depth, including the timing and patterning of flowering, competition among flowering plants to attract certain visitors and deter others, and the many ways plants and animals can cheat each other. Pollination and Floral Ecology pays special attention to the prevalence of specialization and generalization in animal-flower interactions, and examines how a lack of distinction between casual visitors and true pollinators can produce misleading conclusions about flower evolution and animal-flower mutualism.This one-of-a-kind reference also gives insights into the vital pollination services that animals provide to crops and native flora, and sets these issues in the context of today’s global pollination crisis. * Provides the most up-to-date resource on pollination and floral ecology * Describes flower advertising features and rewards, foraging and learning by flower-visiting animals, behaviors of generalist and specialist pollinators—and more * Examines the ecology and evolution of animal-flower interactions, from the molecular to macroevolutionary scale * Features hundreds of color and black-and-white illustrations

Author Biography

Pat Willmer is professor of zoology at the University of St. Andrews. She has published extensively on pollination biology in leading scientific journals. Her books include Environmental Physiology of Animals.