Piper: A Model Genus for Studies of Phytochemistry, Ecology, and Evolution

1. Introduction.- 2. Mutualism, Antiherbivore Defense, and Trophic Cascades: Piper Ant-Plants as a Mesocosm for Experimentation.- 2.1. Introduction.- 2.2. Study Sites.- 2.3. Plants.- 2.4. Herbivores.- 2.5. Ant Mutualists.- 2.6. Top Predators.- 2.7. Other Endophytic Arthropods, Nematodes, and Annelids.- 2.8. Mutualism Experiments.- 2.9. Tritrophic Interactions and Antiherbivore Defense.- 2.10. Trophic Cascades.- 2.11. Conclusions.- 2.12. Acknowledgments.- 3. Pollination Ecology and Resource Partitioning in Neotropical Pipers.- 3.1. Introduction.- 3.2. Pollination and Resource Partitioning in Piper.- 3.3. Conclusions: Pollination and Resource Partitioning of Pipers in Light of Evolutionary and Conservative Ecology.- 3.4. Guidelines for Future Research on the Pollination of Pipers.- 3.5. Acknowledgments.- 4. Dispersal Ecology of Neotropical Piper Shrubs and Treelets.- 4.1. Introduction.- 4.2. The Piper Bats.- 4.3. Piper Fruiting Phenology and Dispersal Ecology.- 4.4. Coevolutionary Aspects of Bat-Piper Interactions.- 4.5. Conclusions.- 4.6. Acknowledgments.- 5. Biogeography of Neotropical Piper.- 5.1. Introduction.- 5.2. Methods.- 5.3. Results.- 5.4. Discussion.- 5.5. Acknowledgments.- 6. Faunal Studies in Model Piper spp. Systems, with a Focus on Spider-Induced Indirect Interactions and Novel Insect-Piper Mutualisms.- 6.1. Introduction.- 6.2. The Case of Piper obliquum.- 6.3. The Case of Piper urostachyum.- 6.4. Summary and Conclusions.- 6.5. Acknowledgments.- 7. Isolation, Synthesis, and Evolutionary Ecology of Piper Amides.- 7.1. Introduction to Piper Chemistry.- 7.2. Isolation and Quantification of Piper Amides.- 7.3. Synthesis of Piper Amides and Their Analogs.- 7.4. Ecology of Piper Chemistry.- 7.5. Evolution of Piper Chemistry.- 7.6. Applied Piper Chemistry.- 7.7. Future Research on Piper Chemistry.- 7.8. Acknowledgments.- 8. Kava (Piper methysticum): Growth in Tissue Culture and In Vitro Production of Kavapyrones.- 8.1. Introduction.- 8.2. Origins of Kava Use and Discovery by Western Cultures.- 8.3. Description of Kava (Piper methysticum) and Its Growth for Use in Kava Production.- 8.4. Active Phytochemicals Present in Kava Extracts.- 8.5. Issues Regarding the Potential Hepatotoxicity of Kava Extracts.- 8.6. Significance of Tissue Culture Growth in Kava Production and Phytochemical Research.- 8.7. Establishment of Kava Cell Cultures and the Determination of In Vitro Kavapyrone Production.- 8.8. Regeneration of Viable Kava Plants from Kava Cell Cultures.- 8.9. Summary and Perspective.- 9. Phylogenetic Patterns, Evolutionary Trends, and the Origin of Ant—Plant Associations in Piper Section Macrostachys: Burger’s Hypotheses Revisited.- 9.1. Introduction.- 9.2. Taxonomic History of Piper sect. Macrostachys (MIQ.) C.DC..- 9.3. Natural History of Piper sect. Macrostachys.- 9.4. Phylogenetic Relationships in Piper sect. Macrostachys.- 9.5. Burger’s Hypotheses Revisited.- 9.6. Ant-Plant Associations in Piper sect. Macrostachys.- 9.7. Conclusions.- Appendix 9.1.- 10. Current Perspectives on the Classification and Phylogenetics of the Genus Piper L..- 10.1. Introduction.- 10.2. Classification.- 10.3. Phylogeny.- 10.4. Evolutionary Aspects.- 10.5. Acknowledgments.- Appendix 10.1.- 11. Future Research in Piper Biology.- 11.1. Introduction.- 11.2. Plant-Animal Interactions.- 11.3. Abiotic Factors.- 11.4. Geographical Distribution.- 11.5. Summary.