Bookreviews

453

BOOKREVIEWS

D.J. Futuyma: EVOLUTION; Sinauer Associates, hzc., Sunderland, Massachusetts. 2005. 543 pp. Price USD 92.95, ISBN 0-87893-187-2 Evolution, the latest book of the forerunning evolutionary biologist D.J. Futuyma is in principle a supplement to his today almost classic monograph Evolutionary Biology, first published in 1979 and most recently for a third time in 1998. Evolutionary Biology, is thus far unsurpassable in the depth and range to which it delves into most of the discussed topics. Its comprehensiveness and detailedness, however, is also the main weakness of the work, making it very difficult to use as a textbook for basic university courses on evolutionary biology. Even though the presented material is very interesting, the reader may be discouraged from studying the book after reading the first hundred pages of so much information. The book can be recommended rather as a reference guide to be gradually read by aficionados and experts in evolutionary biology who are in the same time top sports players suffering often from sports injuries requiring rest in bed to give them enough time to read. Unfortunately this pool of readers for the book Evolutionary Biology is quite small. Evolution, a new book published by Sinauer Associates last year, aimed to improve on this fault by being significantly more concise, with certain parts not included at all and others not discussed in depth. The text is supplemented by a large number of images, including excellent colored photographs, graphs and drawings. As the author stresses in the introduction, the use of mathematic models and formulas was distinctively avoided. Several chapters, however, were broadened and some, e.g. the chapter covering the controversy between the current creationists and their questionable thought constructions were newly included. New results and interesting concrete case studies that have been published in recent years have of course also been included. Overall, the book Evolution, in character, is much more of university textbook than Evolutionary Biology and will evidently be used as basic literature for introductory and intermediate university courses on evolutionary biology. Nevertheless, D.J. Futuyma's Evolution is not the only textbook on evolutionary biology available, thus the question arises as to which textbook should be recommended. Obviously, the final decision always depends on the specific pedagogue and on other factors, e.g. the course timetable, the initial knowledge base of the course's anticipated participants, and the scope and nature of the future lectures that the students will need to attend. I would say that the pedagogue who wishes to emphasize the amount of knowledge obtained may with clear conscience use Evolution. The pedagogue attempting to enhance the listener's affinity for and provide a good tbundation in the subject should probably rather choose the contending textbook Evolution by Mark Ridley. Ridley's book is not as nicely illustrated, thus the aesthetic experience is definitely less distinctive. After a read-through, however, the student acquires the impression that he/she is beginning to find his/her bearings in this very interesting field of science. Reading Evolution by D.J. Futuyma appears rather to instill the sense that evolutionary biology is a boundless field that absolutely cannot be mastered in full without previously mastering in detail all other fields of modem biology. Maybe this impression is factually more correct, but I am not certain whether it is necessary and advantageous to convey this to students of an introductory course on evolutionary biology. There is plenty of time to convey this type of information and it is probably more clever to provide those interested in the field with this information in bits and pieces. What can be concretely found in Futuyma's Evolution? The traditional introductory chapter on the history of the subject unfortunately successfully avoids evaluating the work of living or recently deceased evolutionary biologists (Gould, Maynard-Smith, Hamilton), evidently because the author did not want to anger their peers who would not be mentioned in the book. The history of the subject therefore ends with Kimura. The next three chapters address the evolutionary basics of taxonomy and phylogenetics, the speed and direction of evolutionary changes in individual development, including evolutionary trends and the character of palaeontologic reports. The fifth chapter briefly probes the basics of palaeontology - specifically the evolution of individual groups of organisms on Earth. The sixth chapter addresses biogeography and the seventh the evolution of biodiversity, including the course of extinction of species, even higher taxa. The next two chapters deal with genetic variation, first the processes that generate it, i.e., gene mutation and recombination, and subsequently the rules of maintenance and development ofintrapopulational and intraspecies polymorphism. Gene flow is also discussed in this chapter. Chapter 10 deals with genetic drift and the next three chapters with selection, i must admit that

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dividing the discussed subjects into three chapters did not seem very logical or didactic. Chapter 14 entitled Conflict and cooperation seems rather to be an illogical grouping of material that for some reason could not be included into the chapters where it belonged. The 15th chapter addresses a problem of species and the 16th speciation. The 17th chapter contains again somewhat incongruous material related not only to the development of biodemographic parameters including senescence, but also to the origin and development of sexual reproduction. The 18th chapter deals with questions of coevolution, including the evolution of virulence. The 19th chapter, written by S.W. Edwards, addresses the evolution of genes and genomes and includes to a large part also the topic of molecular drive. J.R. True wrote the 20th chapter on the subfield usually called evo-devo, i.e., questions on the evolution of mechanisms of development. The 21 st chapter again summarizes, but in more detail, the discussed questions of mechanisms of macroevolution, including the punctuated equilibrium theory. The final chapter deals with the controversy on current creationism and detailedly even examines material supporting the correctness of the current evolutionary theory. The book also contains a ten-page Glossary, in which the most important terms are defined and concisely explained, a Bibliography of cited literature with an estimated 1200 entries and of course an Index. Each chapter is concluded with a list of discussed terms and concepts, recommended reading and a list of topics or questions for discussion. The chapters also have colored boxes that adress specialized subjects that are not directly related to the evolutionary topic being discussed or in some way exceed the scope of the basic subject matter. The book has 543 pages and about 508 illustrations. A comparison with the other parallel textbooks published in English has already been mentioned above. To sum up, if for some reason you do not like Ridley's Evolution and you would like to offer your students a colorful and newer publication, then you can recommend Futuyma's Evolution for basic evolutionary biology courses. For advanced courses and for my colleagues as a reference guide, I would recommend the second edition of Futuyma's Evolutionary Biology. The evolutionary biologist who already owns Evolutionary Biology will probably purchase Evolution because of its new case studies that illustrate the subject matter discussed and that include related graphs taken and edited from the original articles. Jaroslav Flegr

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles University. Vinirnci 7, CZ-128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic

C. Krrner: ALPINE PLANT LIFE. FUNCTIONAL PLANT E C O L O G Y OF HIGH MOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEMS. Ed. 2; Springer, Berlin, 2003, 344pp. Price EUR 54.95, ISBN3-540-00347-9 Four years after the seminal book on alpine plants by Christian K6rner (Basel, Switzerland) appeared, a new edition has been prepared and published by Springer. Now it is evident that the first edition was very successful, as reflected by the referees and readers. The book, representing the first modern account of the topic, has been frequently cited and is used as a basic reference for ecophysiology of alpine plants. Thus, there was no reason to change the structure of the book. Differences from the first edition, except for several additional short chapters are minor. Also figures and photographs were largely taken from the first edition. Consequently, the extent of the book, which is of the same size as the first edition, did not change much - it expanded by 6 pages, largely due to about 100 added references. The content of the book is perhaps best characterized by the subtitle ("Functional plant ecology of high mountain ecosystems") rather than by the broader title ("Alpine plant life"). Individual chapters largely reflect the broad scale of interests of the author who from the mid 1970s was one of the ecologists significantly affecting and directing ecophysiological research of plants in mountains. His papers on mineral nutrition, photosynthesis, functional morphology of alpine plants and on tree lines belong to the classics in mountain ecology. Also, his broad geographical field experience is well reflected in the book. In spite that most of literature sources concerning ecology of plants above the tree line are based on research done in Europe and North America, the book succeeded to give a geographically balanced view of alpine ecology of plants, as reflected also by the newly prepared Geographical index. It is admirable how many topics presented in the book were personally studied by the author. The scope of the book, however, is somewhat restricted by focusing just on functional ecology. For example, phytogeographical or palaeoecological issues are suppressed and descriptive studies of vegetation that include a substantial part of botanical literature concerning some alpine regions in the world, are omitted completely. Population ecology,

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phylogeography, genetics or relationships to other trophic levels also belong to topics to which less attention has been paid in the book. Interestingly, the book is firmly rooted in the Austrian school of alpine plant ecology (e.g. Larcher and Cernusca) and results obtained by this school including those published in older papers, and often neglected in current literature are frequently presented in the book. Biodiversity issues, to which several specialized books have been devoted during the last decade (CHAPIN& KORNER 1995, KORNER & SPEHN 2002, NAGY et al. 2003), are shortly summarized in the chapter "'The alpine life zone", however, for a broader geographical comparative approach not enough room was allocated. Some readers may also miss reflections of current discussions concerning the distribution of species numbers along altitudinal gradients (Rahbek, Colwell). Some ideas presented in the book will hopefully stimulate further research to get more support for them. I can mention the rule that regional alpine floras include more-or-less invariable number of species, the idea that alpine plant diversity does not decrease with increasing altitude gradually, but in steps, the proportionality between species numbers of alpine and neighboring lowland areas, or the explanation of a high diversity of Nepalese flora by its position on migration routes. Also, some of the "rules" based on the research done in Europe or North America need to be valid in regions with dry climate, such as Central Asia. This concerns especially biodiversity issues. It is probably not necessary to recommend this book to plant ecophysiologists who are working in mountains. I am convinced that most of them have both editions at hand. However, the book may serve not only as an excellent retierence source for ecophysiological topics, but also as a source of fresh ideas and inspiration for a much broader readership. Those readers who are interested more in local peculiarities of alpine plants will also have to utilise other sources, such as the WlELGOLASKI (1997) or WALTER & BRECKLE (1986 1991). REFERENCES CHAPIN F.S. & K6RNER C. ( 1995): Arctic and alpine biodiversity. Springer, Berlin. KORNER C. & SPEHN E. (eds.) (2002): Mountain biodiversitv: A global assessment. Parthenon Publishers, Lancaster. NAGY L., GRABHERR G., K~)RNER C. & THOMPSON D.B.A. (eds.) (2003): Alpine biodiversitv in Europe. Ecological Studies 167,477 pp. WALTER H. & BRECKLE S.-W. (1986 1991): Ecolog3, of the Earth. Vols. 1-4. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena. W1ELGOLASKI F.E. (ed.) (1997): Polar and alpine tundra. Vol. 3. Elsevier, Amsterdam.

Leo§ Klime~

lnstimte of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dukelskti 135, CZ-379 82 Tfeboh. Czech Republic

H. BassiriRad (ed.): NUTRIENT ACQUISITION BY PLANTS (AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE);

Springer Verlag, Berlin, 2005, 347pp. Price EUR 123.-, ISBN3-540-24186-8 In this book fifteen authors in twelve chapters review various factors influencing nutrient uptake by plants. Although the unifying perspective of the book is an ecological one, individual chapters approach the topic from a broad scale of scientific fields beginning with molecular biology and ending with climatology. In the first two chapters (I, II) Commerford and Prescott describe how various biotic and abiotic components of a plant's external environment affects the amount of nutrients available to the plant. Whereas the first author makes a general summary of the whole topic, the second deals more properly with the factors affecting the rate of decomposition and mineralization of organic matter. The subsequent three chapters reveal the mechanisms enabling plants to sustain a stable internal nutrient concentration in spite of a heterogeneous external nutrient concentration. More specifically, Gutschick & Pushnik (IV) present a theoretical model linking the internal stability to the coordination of nutrient uptake, photosynthesis and plant growth via intermediate pools of reduced N and carbohydrates. Robinson (III) tried to interconnect this concept with considerable knowledge on morphological and physiological responses of plants to external nutrient heterogeneity. The molecular basis of intra-plant regulation are then presented by Glass (VI). The additional six chapters deal with a various set of factors affecting the intensity of plant nutrient uptake. These are root properties such as their longevity (VIII, Eissenstat & Volder) and architecture (VII, Lynch), presence of symbiosis either mediated via mycorrhiza (IX, Finlay) or nitrogen fixators (V, Sprent) and of course external conditions represented by soil temperature (X,

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Pregitzer & King) and the amount of carbon dioxide in the air (XI, Bielenberg & BassiriRad). The very last chapter summarizes the knowledge gained from previous text (XII, BassiriRad). In my opinion, the three chapters on processes underlying homeostasis of a plant's internal environment are especially interesting (Ill, IV, V1). This is first due to novel information presented in a reader friendly manner in each of the three chapters. Second, it is because of the tight conceptual link between the chapters. Due to complementary methodologies parts of knowledge central to all the chapters is repeated in different contexts and due to use of similar special terms the complementary nature of the chapters can be clearly seen. Another chapter [ want to highlight is that about factors affecting decomposition and mineralization of organic matter. It consisted of clear and ecologically relevant conclusions based on a vast amount of publications on the topic. Some other chapters, however, lack a similar clarity of conclusions (VIII, IX) due maybe to the low amount of relevant knowledge of the reviewed topics. The book is a highly valuable extension of basic textbooks about nutrient acquisition by plants. I would recommend it most strongly to all ecologists who want to read a clear introductory review on each of the announced topics and as a starting source of relevant references. This is especially the case for review of the molecular basis of nutrient uptake regulation. This research field has made large progress during the last decade and a similar conclusive and "user-friendly'" review of this progress can hardly be found elsewhere.

Stanislav B~ezina

hlstitute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-252 43 Pr{thonice, Czech Republic

U. Dieckmann, M. Doebeli, J.A,J. Metz & D. Tautz (eds.): ADAPTIVE SPECIATION. Cambridge Studies in Adaptive Dynamics; Cambridge Universi~ Press, Cambridge, 2004, 460pp. Price GBP 60.-, USD

100,-, ISBN 0-521-82842-2 The reviewed book presents a collection of representative studies concerning one of the most important topics in evolutionary biology - adaptive speciation. The key role of this topic is that it relates to the rise, diversification, establishing and dying out of species. What other than the knowledge of the speciation principles enables us to get inside of the understanding of the whole life on Earth, in the past, in the present and, if there will be any future, also in the future. Editors in this volume showed the progress and changes in the perception of selection and how selection in complex relationships of various biological interactions may or may not affect divergence by ways of adaptations. The book explains the advances in speciation theories, which are confronted with known examples of adaptive speciation. As the editors noted, the main aim of the book is to show that the usual view of speciation as a secondary effect of geographical isolation should be substantively changed as a result of complex interactions of many ecological and geographical processes; the book introduces the adaptive speciation as a main generator of biological heterogeneity. The carefully selected studies of the book show another of the editors' aims - to compile modem textbook on "speciation science". The comprehensive and synoptical introduction summarizes speciation in various contexts; in the didactic ability of the authors, here editors, can be seen in this chapter when they compare adaptive speciation to the course of gold-fever (p. 4). The next chapter is almost an exemplary review of theories on speciation and species definitions. For me two points are missing: the authors' personal opinion on which species concept he prefers and which concept is the most practical for the main message of this book. I appreciate that he highlights that many people who are involved in such "species concept" discussions take adaptive and sympatric speciations as being the same but this of course need not always be true. The book is divided into three main groups on the following topics: Theories of speciation, Ecological mechanisms of speciation and Patterns of speciation. The last two groups are thoroughly commented case studies; four for fishes, two for invertebrates and plants and one for reptiles and bacteria. Personally, I have to say that the texts include nothing completely new, but are technically perfect and maybe the authors went into too much detail. In some cases this is a pitty, because readers have to read the book slowly to understand clearly the flow of information. The book covers an incredible wide range of topics. The editors ended each chapter with Concluding comments. My advice is to read the concluding comments of each chapter to get some orientation in the studied topic before reading the particular text part. The following are some remarks on the studied topic; I will concentrate only on fishes as they are my main research interest and I do not feel competent to comment on the other groups. The first example is one of the most spectacular speciation and radiation of cichlids, inaccurately tribe Haplochromini, from African lakes

Bookreviews

457

Malawi and Victoria, also known as Darwin's Dreamponds for their species richness. The cichlids and their divergence was described and pictured in many books and other literature: the chapter in the reviewed book only repeats known facts, but properly ordered for purposes of this book. For those who are not familiar with cichlids, the book is instructive, nevertheless a more visible phy[ogenetical concept of this example is missing and although the authors have highlighted the evolved morphological adaptations, the clear evolutionary context is missing. I do, however, like the notes on breeding experiments because this recent approach helps in understanding the evolutionary questions and to specify proper modelling techniques. Also the examples, e.g. the role of environmental conditions, here the rocky and mud bottom of the lakes, on species diversification are very fitting. The next chapter on the possible sympatric speciation of two types (limnetic and benthic) of stickleback species in British Columbia lakes is a crystally clear described and commented case study, in contrast to the previous case study this one is more simple. Here we have three lakes and in each only a pair of species; this makes the interpretation more simply and straightforward. However, the corresponding concluding remarks are not a summary but a list of unresolved questions. I am not sure if this was the authors' intention, but here again l miss their personal opinion on the taxonomical solution of this case. The same is with the next chapter (study) analyzing the possible adaptive speciation of arctic charrs. Another reservation about that chapter is the lack of exploited knowledge from many population genetics studies (Salmonidae are one of the most studied groups of fish!) and I am certain that some other aspects of interpretation could be evaluated more. I liked most the chapter ~Diversity and speciation ofsemionotid fishes in mesozoic rift lakes". In this chapter the authors summarized the present knowledge about this unique group of fishes from the long term palaeontologic research. The reason why I would like to highlight the importance of this chapter for adaptive speciation is because it describes the discovery and following analysis of more than 60 Van Houten's cycles (cycles of continuous change of lakes from shallow lake across deep lake and with final sedimentation and disappearance). Each phase of the lake cycle is accompanied by specific species composition. The high number of found cycles with repeated emergence of similar types of fishes clearly shows the rules of adaptive speciations and clearly supports other statements that evolutionary novelties and new species emerge in the beginning and in the short period. This study clearly documents the key role of creation of new habitats and thus possibilities for following diversification. To close the review I should summarize that the book consists of 19 chapters written by 35 authors and offers an up-to-date summary of the present knowledge for all interested in speciation. Petr Rfib

Laborator3, ofFish Genetics. b~stitute o f Animal Physiolog3' and Genetics AS CR, 277 21 Lib~chov, Czech Republic

J. Alcock: AN E N T H U S I A S M FOR ORCHIDS: SEX AND D E C E P T I O N IN PLANT EVOLUTION;

Oxford Universi~ Press, New York, 2006, vi-xi + 302 pages + colour photographs. Price USD 29.(Hardeover), ISBN 0-19-518274-X In his new book, animal behaviourist John Alcock takes the reader orchid hunting in the southwestern part of Western Australia, a home of many bizarre and weird relationships between orchids and their pollinators. The book has been written with two types of readers in mind: those with an interest in evolutionary ideas and those with a special fondness for orchids, especially those that grow in the wild. In general, it is an extended essay on evolution and a response to various concepts of modern evolutionary theory that minimize the role of adaptation. These are mainly Gould and Lewontin's critiques on overuse of adaptations and theory of creationism. Like Darwin, Alcock uses floral structures and pollination strategies of Australian orchids as examples of adaptation, an outcome of natural selection. The book is divided into eight chapters dealing with (1) historical background of Darwinian adaptationism, (2) various examples of plant adaptive behaviour, (3) function and (4) origin of adaptive and maladaptive attributes of living things, (5) criticism of the lumpers's and splitter's approaches in taxonomy, (6) reasons for the extraordinary biodiversity of Western Australia and application of the hotspots concept, (7) problems in species conservation and (8) useful guidelines for orchid hunters. Using orchids as examples of evolution, the author explores many aspects of orchid biology and history ranging from how exceptionally complex flowers

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Bookreviews

came to be shaped as they are, how some species avoid inbreeding using floral deception, to how orchid obsession originated, and what kind of the threats Australian orchids face. The title might be misleading for readers as it suggests that the book is entirely about orchids, which is not true. Even though orchids play a dominant role in Alcock's book, the author also highlights adaptations found in different groups of plants, such as the sticky folding leaves that sundews use to capture insects, parachutes used by milkweed or dandelion seeds for long distance dispersal, rapid movements in triggerplants that load pollen to insects and the defensive folding of mimosa leaves. Citing examples from basic books on various aspects of orchid and plant biology, Alcock or any other author should bear in mind that the original sources (including a Darwin's "'bible" on orchid pollination) might contain mistakes. For example, Darwin's study ofAnacamptis pyramidalis is one of the most often cited examples of floral adaptation to effective pollination. However, although Darwin described the mechanism of pollen transfer very precisely, he wrongly considered A. pyramidalis to be a nectar-rewarding species. We now know that A. pyramidalis belongs to a huge group of food-deceptive orchids luring pollinators by showy displays and resemblance to nectar-bearing plants. In spite of this many authors, including Alcock, perpetuate Darwin's description of butterflies drinking nectar concealed in the long spurs ofA. pyramidalis flowers. Contemporary orchid research is very dynamic field and one has to admire an author's decision to write a book using orchids as an example. Each month, several new facts on orchid biology and ecology came to light, and therefore each orchid book published soon becomes outdated. For example at the same time that Alcock's book was published, a paper changing our view on orchid mycorrhiza was released. Using C and N isotopes, a research team from the UK demonstrated, for the first time, mutualism in orchid mycorrhiza, i.e. bidirectional transfer of C between a green orchid and its fungal symbiont. Thus the idea that orchid mycorrhizal fungi give but do not receive is probably not valid any more. The rapid pace of orchid research notwithstanding, Alcock's book is very entertaining, attractively designed and contains excellent photographs. It is also suitable for readers not familiar with the terminology and complexity of orchid flowers, as the book presents them in a very understandable way. It would not surprise me at all if after reading this book you would book a flight to Western Australia. According to Alcock, the best time is September and October! Jana Jers~kov~

Department of Theoretical Ecolog); Institute of Systems Biology and Ecology AS CR and Universi~ of South Bohemia, deskd Bud~jovice 370 05, Czech Republic

V.H. Dale, F.J. Swanson & Ch.M. Crisafulli (eds.): ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO THE 1980 ERUPTION O F MOUNT ST. HELENS; Springer, New York, 2005, XX + 342 pp., Price EUR 29.95

(paperback), ISBN 0-387-23850-6 The eruption of the Mount St. Helens in May 1980 was the most spectacular eruption since that of Krakatau in 1880 and perhaps the largest recent natural disturbance. About 600 km 2 were directly affected. Along with Krakatau (e.g., THORNTON 1996) and Surtsey (e.g., FRIDPdKSSON 1987), Mt. St. Helens represents the most famous example of subsequent colonization of volcanic material by plants and animals. Due to the great progress in science, it was possible to organize immediately systematic and very complex research, results of which are comprehensively presented in the book published for 25th anniversary of the eruption. I am not aware of any other succession being described from so many various aspects, including abiotic environment, plants, microbes, fungi and animals, linked together in one volume. Together 47 authors contributed to the book. For further information, such as pictures, data details, other graphs, etc., one may see the following web site: http://www, fsl.orst.edu/msh. The book consists of 20 chapters grouped into five parts: Part I Introduction, Part II - Survival and establishment of plant commtmities, Part III - Survival and establishment of animal communities, Part IV Responses of ecosystem processes, and as a summary and conclusions, Part V - Lessons learned. I concentrate my comments especially on those aspects that concern vegetation succession. Vegetation succession differed depending on the substratum, i.e., tephra, debris-avalanche deposits, and mudflow. There was a continuum from a primary succession through secondary succession to damage repair, but most attention was devoted to primary succession. It was probably not only surprising for me that many

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organisms survived the eruption, even in many unlikely places (p. 223). Of course, the survival differed very much by site and species. This survival became crucial for the subsequent recovery process. Beside the survivors, next colonization processes were substantial and they were very stochastic, much more than reported from other successional series. Highly probabilistic assemblages (here a better term than communities) of species were formed, and predictability of successional trajectories was very low. Dispersal factors were more important than abiotic site conditions in early succession. Crucial distance, above that only wind-dispersed species were able to colonize a site, was ca. 100 m. The results partly modified the traditional view of primary succession, which is now seen as much, less deterministic. Part I sets the scene. A very useful table summarizes research on various volcanos throughout the world in Chapter 1. In Part II, I consider Chapter 7, Proximity, microsites, and biotic interactions during early succession, written by Roger del Moral, David Wood and Jonathan Titus, as the most important for plant ecologists interested in succession. All other chapters in all five parts, however, are worth a read for any specialists. Those, who have little time, can concentrate on the concluding and summarizing Part V. The extensive list of references is helpful for further reading, and the Glossary and Index ease orientation in the book. I have only one substantial objection, which is the technical quality of many photos. Nothing is visible on some black-and-white photos especially in Chapter 8, dealing with remote sensing of vegetation response, for which good photos are essential. This fault does not make a good reputation for the publishing house. The book is relevant not only for ecological theory, but also for practical restoration of disturbed sites. Moreover, one can read the book as a thrilling story. We can look forward to a follow up comprehensive volume, let's say, 50 years after the eruption. I hope the authors will have sufficient funds and energy to continue their work as the succession itself continues. REFERENCES FRIDRIKSSON S. (1987): Plant colonization of a volcanic island, Surtsey, Iceland. Arctic Alpine Res. 19: 425-431. THORNTON I.W.B. (1996): Krakatau. The destruction and reassembly of an island ecosystem. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachussets. Karel Praeh

Faculty of Biological Sciences USB, Brani~ovsk5 31, CZ-37005 ~eskd Bud~jovice, and Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Dukelsk5 135, CZ-379 82 T~eboh, Czech Republic

F.L.Wilckers, P.C.J. Rijn van & J. Bruin (eds.): PLANT-PROVIDED FOOD FOR CARNIVOROUS INSECTS. A PROTECTIVE MUTUALISM AND ITS APPLICATIONS; Cambridge University Press,

Cambridge, 2005, 368pp. Price GBP 75.-, USD 130.-, ISBN0-521-81941-5 What people usually imagine under the term plant-insect interaction? Most of people will come upon herbivory and insect pests in general spheres where the insects are enemies of plants and compete with humans for resources. The commonly neglected point of view to these insect-plant relationships gave W~ickers et al. in their book. They offered in eleven chapters by different contributors insight into little known interactions between plants and predacious insects and other arthropods. As these interactions do not cause visible damage to plants, this study area has a relatively short history. A study of the predacious insect-plant interaction represents an interesting topic of ecological, ethological and evolutionary research. The food provided by plants mediate their special interaction with insects, which then serve as "plant bodyguards" against other herbivores. More questions can arise when the multitrophic interaction (plant - herbivore insect - predacious insect) is included. In these interactions, either all ontogenetic stadia or only some of them can be involved. The knowledge about the functioning of the multitrophic interaction enables us to understand not only its evolution under natural conditions, but could also be used in innovations of the biological control of insect pests. The book is a useful contribution for enlarging the published knowledge about general plant-insect interactions, with emphasis on the interactions at more trophic levels than is usually considered. The text is logically divided into a short Introduction and three specialized parts, (1) Food provision by plants, (2) Arthropods feeding on plant-provided food and (3) Plant-provided food and biological control. The chapters are

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framed similarly throughout the book. A list and explanation of terms used are mentioned at the beginning of each chapter, facilitating understanding of the proceeding text. The first two special parts summarize the known plant-insect interactions seen from the view of both partners and the last one as indicated by the title, focuses on general ecological conclusions and use in biological control. In the introductory part of the book, authors gave solid review of the history of understanding of plant interactions with insects. The book's special parts comprise mostly of the best known examples. The insect food sources from plants are summarized in "Food provision by plants" where parameters affecting food suitability are evaluated, as well as their availability, apparency, accessibility, nutritional composition and foraging risk. Contributing authors described in detail role of extrafloral nectaries - how they evolved and serve for either indirect plant defence, or direct negative impact on herbivores, trapping them in the sticky exudate. Another plant-insect interaction described in detail is the food bodies and ants. Authors discuss the role of natural selection in this plant-ant link and pros and cons for plants when it has no control over which insects are going to utilize provided resources. Originally, the plants produce foods as a by-product of their physiology or reproduction - to help to regulate the balance of a plant, e.g. amount of salt, sugar and water. The evaluation of studied mutualism from the view of insects is summarized in "'Arthropods feeding on plant-provided food". Authors show how suitable food sources can substantially increase longevity and fecundity of adult hymenopteran and dipteran parasitoids, and can influence many aspects of parasitoid biology and behavior. Feeding of predaceous insects by plants is widespread across many species and omnivorous arthropods shar ~the ability to utilize both prey and plant food. Many insects, conspicuously different in many aspects, belong .o this group, The effects of plant feeding are evaluated from both partners, plants and insects, and all their ontogenetic stages. Additionally, the role that have high-nitrogen plant food (i.e. pollen, seeds and pods) on the success of omnivorous insect is shown. Both as pollinators and as parasites, adult herbivores can impose a strong selective force in the evolution of plant-provided food supplements. When the adult herbivores act as pollinators, feeding on plant-provided food such as floral nectar and pollen, this interaction is often mutualistic. The representatives of the large insect orders (Lepidoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera) are mentioned as example of pest versus pollinators. Contributors to the last part, "Plant-provided food and biological control", discussed impact of plant-provided food on herbivore-carnivore population and metapopulation dynamics. They provide a list of conditions that are important for the impact of plant-provided food on herbivore suppression. The hypothesis that the presence of nectar-producing plants in agricultural systems can improve biological control of pests by supplying parasitoids with sugar is tested, however, without results significant for clear hypothesis support. Especially in the last three decades the interest of the use of plant-carnivorous insects in biological control has accelerated. The knowledge about interactions represents an important topic in basic ecology. Concerning the development of the plant-insect mutualistic relationship, it is supposed that it evolved repeatedly and independently, thus it constitutes a powerful mechanism usable also in biological control programs. The results are believed to be widely used to understand the population dynamics of herbivores and an application in biological control. The authors of the contributions in the book emphasized that more studies and many results are needed to understand completely, or even only better, all the plant-insects interactions. Anyway, the authors try to explain the possible evolution strategies of the mutualism at three trophic levels, when plants and the arthropods are strongly tied together. The reviewed book shows the close link between the mentioned groups and thus it represents a great contribution to this research subject. However, the book includes also some imperfections. Consideration is focused mainly on the largest and most conspicuous insect orders, Lepidoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera. The "smaller", but not less important orders are mentioned only sporadically. The special modifications of insect mouthpart, as the most important adaptations to interaction with plants, are not mentioned almost at all throughout the book. Lastly, a couple of mistakes or inaccuracies in the zoological/entomological nomenclature was found in the text of different contributions, e.g. Sternorrhynchae - spelled correctly Sternorrhyncha; name Homoptera used for not monophyletic taxon, recently accepted as three sister groups (i.e., Sternorrto,ncha, Auchenorrhyncha and

Coleorrhvncha). Jitka Vilimovfi

Department of Zoolog3~, FaculO,OfSciences. Charles University, Vini(mk 7, CZ-128 44 Praha 2. Czech Republic