This new book is the first to make logical and important connections
between trapping and foraging ecology. It develops and describes--both
verbally and mathematically--the underlying principles that determine
and define trap-organism interactions. More important, it goes on to
explain and illustrate how these principles and relationships can be
used to estimate absolute population densities in the landscape and to
address an array of important problems relating to the use of trapping
for detection, population estimation, and suppression in both research
and applied contexts. The breakthrough nature of subject matter
described has broad fundamental and applied implications for research
for addressing important real-world problems in agriculture, ecology,
public health and conservation biology. Monitoring traps baited with
potent attractants of animals like insects have long played a critical
role in revealing what pests are present and when they are active.
However, pest managers have been laboring without the tools necessary
for quick and inexpensive determination of absolute pest density, which
is the cornerstone of pest management decisions. This book spans the
gamut from highly theoretical and fundamental research to very practical
applications that will be widely useful across all of agriculture.