Angela E. Douglas Libros

"This book provides an accessible and authoritative guide to the fundamental principles of microbiome science, an exciting and fast-emerging new discipline that is reshaping many aspects of the life sciences. Resident microbes in healthy animals--including humans--can dictate many traits of the animal host. This animal microbiome is a second immune system conferring protection against pathogens; it can structure host metabolism in animals as diverse as reef corals and hibernating mammals; and it may influence animal behavior, from social recognition to emotional states. These microbial partners can also drive ecologically important traits, from thermal tolerance to diet, and have contributed to animal diversification over long evolutionary timescales"--Publisher by publisher.

Nature on the Doorstep reveals the simple pleasures of paying attention to the natural world in one's own backyard over the course of a year. In weekly letters, Angela Douglas shares the joys and curiosities of a decidedly ordinary patch of green in upstate New York cultivated through the art of "strategic neglect"―sometimes taking a hand to manage wildlife, more often letting nature go its own way.From the first flowers of spring to cardinals singing in the winter, Douglas shows us the magic of welcoming unexpected plant and animal life into one's backyard. A paean to the richness we find when we stop to look and let be, Nature on the Doorstep celebrates the role humble backyards play both in conservation efforts and in an expanded appreciation of the living world.

Microbiomes: A Very Short Introduction provides a succinct overview of the communities of microorganisms that inhabit animals (including humans) and plants. Microbiomes are generally beneficial to their animal and plant hosts, functioning to promote healthy growth, to protect against infectious disease, and, in some animals, to support complex behavioural traits, such as learning and memory. However, under some circumstances, the microbiome can cause or exacerbate poor health and disease. Microbiomes studies are increasingly being harnessed, especially in biomedicine for improved human health, and in agriculture for crop production. With the increasing evidence that modern lifestyles and excessive use of antimicrobials are degrading microbiomes, microbiome research is providing routes for novel microbial therapies to restore health-promoting microbiomes in humans, other animals, and plants.

"In Insects and their Beneficial Microbes, Angela Douglas, a leading scholar in microbiology and microbiome science, brings together the first synthesis of research in beneficial insect-microbe interactions, looking at a variety of insects and their beneficial microbes and the possible ramifications of insect-microbial interactions in agriculture and medicine. Douglas first provides a foundation for microbe-insect interactions and then discusses the many applications for both insects and humans. She begins by discussing the location of these "microbial partners" (the insect and microbe), how insects acquire certain microbes, and what the microbes specifically do for their hosts. For example, we learn how insects supplement nutrients from their microbial partners that protect them from dangerous pathogens and parasites. Douglas also takes a broader look at the mechanisms underlying these symbiotic interactions and the role evolution has played in their creation. Incorporating recent advances in this burgeoning field, this book looks at the way beneficial microbes can offer solutions to problems caused by pests and disease, with possible applications to the human microbiome and human health"-- Provided by publisher