Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands, Volume 1 Ecology and Interactions in Grassland Habitats

About this book

Language: English with bilingual summaries in English and French

Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 1): Ecology and Interactions in Grassland Habitats is the first of a four-volume series that will provide an overview of Canada's grasslands and its associated insects, mites, and their close relatives.

Grasslands were once a dominant feature of Canada's landscape, extending across most of southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with smaller expanses in the Yukon, the interior of British Columbia and in eastern Ontario. Now, virtually all of these grasslands have been extensively modified for agricultural production with only scattered patches left undisturbed.

Our current knowledge of grassland arthropods largely is limited to species of economic importance; usually exotic species or native species that have become agricultural pests. There exists relatively little information on the arthropods of native grasslands, such that we know little about their biodiversity, their role in ecosystems, and their ability to respond to habitat change.

With the publication of Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands, the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods) hopes to increase awareness of the plight of Canada's grasslands, to draw attention to is associated arthropods, and to provide a baseline reference to support future studies of arthropods in these environments.

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Biography

Joseph D. Shorthouse is a professor with the Department of Biology at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario where he teaches courses in entomology and environmental biology. For most of his research career, he has concentrated on the ecology, distribution and development of plant galls induced by cynipid wasps of the genus Diplolepis found on wild and introduced roses. He has travelled extensively throughout Canada sampling galls and taking photographs for his courses and research.

Kevin D. Floate is a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in Lethbridge, Alberta. His main research focus is the use of parasitoid wasps (Pteromalidae) as biological control agents of pest fly species (Muscidae), and symbiotic bacteria associated with both the parasitoids and their hosts. Additional research topics include studies of gall-forming aphids associated with riparian cottonwood forest, and insect communities associated with cattle dung.