Insect Functional Morphology

Abstract

When the African Regional Postgraduate Programme in Insect Science (ARPPIS) was established at the hltemational Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) Nairobi, Kenya in 1983, the main objective was to strengthen the capabilities of African universities in postgraduate training in arthropod science, using technical expertise and the advanced research facilities already existing at the ICIPE. The multidisciplinary setting of ICIPE's research programme enables ARPPIS to admit students from a variety of training backgrounds, not limited to entomology. Thus, the prograrrune also admitted graduates of basic sciences such as mathematics and chemistry, who wished to apply their disciplines to the study of arthropod populations and behaviour. In order to prepare ARPPIS students for research in arthropod science, it became apparent that the students should first be brought to a reasonable and more uniform level of understanding of basic arthropod science before they embarked on their thesis work. It was, therefore, decided that the ARPPIS course-work should include a mandatory taught semester containing six graduate-level courses, to be taught by some of the best-known authorities in each discipline. The selected six courses were: insect functional morphology; insect physiology and biochemistry; insect taxonomy; insect ecology; biological control of arthropod pests; and biomathematics and experimental design. Experience from the ARPPIS taught semesters revealed...