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Nectar is the most important reward offered by plants to pollinating animals. This book is a modern and interdisciplinary text on nectar and nectaries, prompted by the expansion of knowledge, especially in the more ecological and now molecular fields, and the strong recent interest in pollination biology. The topics covered vary widely: they include historical aspects, the structure and ultrastructure of nectaries and relationships to plant systematics, the dynamics of nectar secretion, nectar chemistry and the molecular biology of defence proteins, adaptations to insect and vertebrate nectar consumers and consequences for pollination ecology, and broad-scale studies of nectar resources at the community level.
List of contents
A systematic survey of floral nectaries.- Nectary structure and ultrastructure.- Nectar production and presentation.- Nectar chemistry.- Molecular biology of the Nicotiana floral nectary.- Nectar consumers.- Ecological and evolutionary aspects of floral nectars in Mediterranean habitats.
About the author
Sue Nicolson is a New Zealander who obtained her PhD in insect physiology from the University of Cambridge. She is a professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and her main research interest is in ecophysiological aspects of nectar feeding in insects and birds.
Massimo Nepi was awarded a PhD in agricultural biology in 1995. He is currently employed as researcher at the Department of Environmental Sciences of the University of Siena, where he carries out studies concerning the reproductive biology of angiosperms. In recent years his main research interest has been nectar and nectary biology.
Ettore Pacini graduated in botany in 1967 at the University of Siena, where he is still engaged as full professor of Botany. His main research interest has been higher plant reproduction, first from a cytological point of view and also from an ecological point of view during the last two decades. Recently he became a member of the prestigious Accademia dei Lincei, the first Scientific Academy, founded in 1604.
Summary
Nectar is the most important reward offered by plants to pollinating animals. This book is a modern and interdisciplinary text on nectar and nectaries, prompted by the expansion of knowledge, especially in the more ecological and now molecular fields, and the strong recent interest in pollination biology. The topics covered vary widely: they include historical aspects, the structure and ultrastructure of nectaries and relationships to plant systematics, the dynamics of nectar secretion, nectar chemistry and the molecular biology of defence proteins, adaptations to insect and vertebrate nectar consumers and consequences for pollination ecology, and broad-scale studies of nectar resources at the community level.
Additional text
From the reviews:
"Nectaries and nectar is a welcome effort that provides a comprehensive review of the advances made in the last three decades in the study of nectary systematics, structure, and ultrastructure, as well as nectar production, presentation, chemistry, molecular biology, nectar consumers, and ecology. … the big advantage of this book is that it is written by experts in the field. … Overall there is much to recommend this book as a major reference text and resource for the many biologists … ." (Lynn S. Adler, Ecology, Vol. 89 (4), 2008)
Report
From the reviews:
"Nectaries and nectar is a welcome effort that provides a comprehensive review of the advances made in the last three decades in the study of nectary systematics, structure, and ultrastructure, as well as nectar production, presentation, chemistry, molecular biology, nectar consumers, and ecology. ... the big advantage of this book is that it is written by experts in the field. ... Overall there is much to recommend this book as a major reference text and resource for the many biologists ... ." (Lynn S. Adler, Ecology, Vol. 89 (4), 2008)
