Insect Ecomorphology

Oliver Betz gained a Ph.D. from the University of Bayreuth, Germany, in 1994 for his work on the morphology, function, and evolution of the prey-capture apparatus in Stenus rove beetles. He then became interested in the broader fields of functional and ecological morphology and qualified in 2002 as a professor in ecology and zoology at the University of Kiel, Germany. Since 2004, Oliver has been a full professor of Evolutionary Biology of Invertebrates at the Biology Department at the University of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. His research focuses on the functional and ecological morphology of insects, taking into account the integration of morphology and ecology to improve the understanding of the function of morphological structures in their ecological (environment) and evolutionary (history) context.

1. Introduction to the field of insect ecomorphology 2. Conceptual issues in insect ecomorphology Part I: Ecomorphology of the insect body 3. Mouthparts 4. Compound eyes 5. Flight 6. Locomotion (terrestrial and aquatic) 7. Tarsal and pretarsal attachment organs 8. Ovipositors 9. Mechano- and chemosensillar Part II: Methodological approaches 10. Biomechanical approaches to the study of insect morphology 11. Methods for the study of insect behavior in the ecomorphological content 12. Trait-function relationships – Trait-based approaches in ecomorphology Part III: Case Studies 13. Damselflies 14. Trap-jaw ants 15. Insect-plant interactions 16. Feeding ecology of sap-sucking insects 17. Ants Part IV: Biomimetics 18. How insect biomimetics can benefit from ecomorphological research