This work demonstrates how biomechanics can provide novel insights into long standing ecological and evolutionary questions. Combining approaches from various disciplines, it covers theoretical and practical approaches involving research on plants and animals, as well as interactions between the two. While it emphasizes distinct organism-environment relationships, the book also includes a few examples achieving wider application across entire ecosystems. The authors pave the way for further research by demonstrating how we can achieve an entire paradigm shift in our perception of living organisms when two seemingly disparate subdisciplines within the field of biology are creatively combined.

Tree Biomechanics and Growth Strategies in the Context of Forest Functional Ecology. Diversity of Mechanical Architectures in Climbing Plants: An Ecological Perspective. The Role of Blade Buoyancy and Reconfiguration in the Mechanical Adaptation of the Southern Bullkelp Durvillaea. Murray's Law and the Vascular Architecture of Plants. Plant-Animal Mechanics and Bite Procurement in Grazing Ruminants. Biomechanics of Salvia Flowers: The Role of Lever and Flower Tube in Specialization on Pollinators. Do Plant Waxes Make Insect Attachment Structures Dirty: Experimental Evidences for the Contamination-Hypothesis. Ecology and Biomechanics of Slippery Wax Barriers and Waxrunning to Macarange-ant Mutualisms. Nectar Feeding in Long-Proboscid Insects. Biomechanics and Behavioral Mimicry in Insects. Inter-individual Variation in the Muscle Physiology of Vertebrate Ectotherms: Consequences for Behavioral and Ecological Performance. Power Generation during Locomotion in Anolis Lizards: An Ecomorphological Approach. Implications of Microbial Motility on the Water Column Ecosystems. The Biomechanics of Ecological Speciation.