Background Botanists, ecologists and evolutionary biologists are familiar with the
astonishing species richness and endemism of the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region and …

Biologists who study insect-induced plant galls are faced with the overwhelming diversity of
plant forms and insect species. A challenge is to find common themes amidst this diversity …

Four sources of evidence are used to support the Plant Vigor Hypothesis that many
herbivore species feed preferentially on vigorous plants or plant modules, as opposed to the …

Studying the distributions of plants and animals along environmental gradients can
illuminate the factors governing and maintaining species diversity. There are two general …

The distribution of insects along elevational gradients is controversial. Recent long-term
sampling studies have concluded that mid-elevational peaks in species richness identified …

We studied the relationship between habitat moisture and gall-forming insect populations.
Population sizes for most galling taxa were significantly larger in xeric habitats compared …

Feeding inside leaves by" leaf-mining" insects has been viewed as an adaptive innovation
for consuming foliage. The leaf mine presumably provides its occupant shelter from the …

We evaluate a three‐part hypothesis explaining why gall‐inducing insect species richness is
so high in scleromorphic vegetation:(1) persistence of low nutrient status scleromorphic …

Smith and Lucas (1993) suggested that the human skeleton is “an overlooked but effective
visual aid.” We concur, not just for anatomical landmarks, but for the understanding of …

Mountains provide an interesting context in which to study the many facets of biodiversity in
response to macroclimate, since environmental conditions change rapidly due to elevation …