In a work that will interest researchers in ecology, genetics, botany,
entomology, and parasitology, Warren Abrahamson and Arthur Weis present
the results of more than twenty-five years of studying plant-insect
interactions. Their study centers on the ecology and evolution of
interactions among a host plant, the parasitic insect that attacks it,
and the suite of insects and birds that are the natural enemies of the
parasite. Because this system provides a model that can be subjected to
experimental manipulations, it has allowed the authors to address
specific theories and concepts that have guided biological research for
more than two decades and to engage general problems in evolutionary
biology.The specific subjects of research are the host plant goldenrod
(Solidago), the parasitic insect Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera:
Tephritidae) that induces a gall on the plant stem, and a number of
natural enemies of the gallfly. By presenting their detailed empirical
studies of the Solidago-Eurosta natural enemy system, the authors
demonstrate the complexities of specialized enemy-victim interactions
and, thereby, the complex interactive relationships among species more
broadly. By utilizing a diverse array of field, laboratory, behavioral,
genetic, chemical, and statistical techniques, Abrahamson and Weis
present the most thorough study to date of a single system of
interacting species. Their interest in the evolutionary ecology of
plant-insect interactions leads them to insights on the evolution of
species interactions in general. This major work will interest anyone
involved in studying the ways in which interdependent species interact.
