2.1. Ecology of the Individual

The fundamental unit of ecology is the individual organism (Schowalter 1996).  Understanding the factors effecting individual behavior enables us to manipulate pest behavior to our advantage. For example, by understanding the chemical communication system of insects, we can build pheromone traps that attract key pests.  By understanding how pests find, exploit, and allocate resources we can either interfere with the process, or use the process to trap pests.