Pollination and Floral Ecology

by Pat Willmer

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.

Genres: Science

832 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished most of it. My main purpose of reading this wasn't from a class/research perspective. As a casual reader, I just wanted to know what flower traits attract what insects and why. This book did a wonderful job of doing that. I can never look at flowers the same after this. I would be hard-pressed to find a better book on pollination.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book for my current internship in Pollination ecology.
The book covers all topics and is an easy read.
On the other hand, the figures could be improved. But it's still worth the 5 stars for being a very nice reference-book.