Spider Research in the 21st Century: trends and perspectives

Description:

With contributions from leading arachnologists around the world. Over the last few decades the internet, increased computing capabilities, molecular techniques and new imaging technologies have altered the way we do research in the 21st century. The result is a great increase in multi-disciplinary research and novel avenues incorporating spiders as model organisms. In short, we are in a new era of research, being published in an ever-increasing number of diverse, rapid-publication outlets, to the extent that it is difficult to keep track of all the progress that has been made in recent years and in which directions the various fields are heading. This edited volume brings together the state-of-the-art knowledge bases for the diverse topics that fall under the remit of spider-related research. The subjects covered include Biodiversity, Systematics, Evolutionary Ecology, Biogeography, Genetics and Genomics, Agroecology, Behaviour, Silk and Palaeontology. Each chapter was written by a recognized world leader(s) and many present previously unpublished data and new analyses. This volume will be of interest to professional arachnologists, but the research techniques covered can obviously be applied to other groups of organisms such as insects