Contact:
Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology
Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research
BGU, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990, Israel
Telephone: +972-8-6596774
Fax: +972-8-6596772
E-mail: ayal@bgu.ac.il
Born: 1946, Israel.
Ph.D.: 1978, The Hebrew University. Senior Researcher, 1996.
Research Interests:
The structure of desert communities; the effect of habitat productivity on community structure and trophic interactions; insect-plant interactions and insect community structure in desert ecosystems; insect parasitoid-host population interactions.
Research Projects:
(a) Productivity and trophic interactions in the Negev Highlands - productivity as structure hypothesis;
(b) Macrodetritivores as keystone species in desert communities;
(c) biological control of insect pests.
Research Projects for M.Sc.
- The foraging behavior of the parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae and the role of honeydew of its host as a source for foraging decision at different environmental scales.
- Community structure of dry land arthropods along productivity gradients: the role of plant cover in the determination of predation intensity on macro detritivores.
Courses taught:
Plant-animal Interactions: Individuals, Population and Community Level
Introductory Ecology, with a Special Emphasis On Dryland Ecology.
Recent Publications:
Ayal, Y. (in preparation) Productivity, trophic structure and trophic regulation in terrestrial communities.
Ayal, Y., G. Polis, Y. Lubin and D. E. Goldberg. How can high animal biodiversity be supported in low-productivity deserts? The role of macro-detritivory and habitat physiognomy. In Hoekstra, T.W. and M. Shachak (Eds.), Arid Lands Management - Towards Ecological Sustainability. University of Illinois Press, pp. 15-29 (1999).
Groner, E. and Y. Ayal. The interaction between bird predation and plant cover in determining habitat occupancy of darkling beetles. Oikos, 93:22-31(2001).
Ayal, Y., M. Broza and M. P. Pener. Geographical distribution and habitat segregation of bushcrickets (Orthoptera : Tettigoniidae) in Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology, 45:49-64 (1999).
Ayal, Y. Arthropod communities in deserts are top-down controlled: An example from the Central Negev, Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology, 44:68-92 (1998).
Green, R. F. and Y. Ayal. A simple Markov model for the assessment of host patch quality by foraging parasitoids. Oecologia, 116:456-466 (1998).
Shaltiel, L. and Y. Ayal. The use of kairomones for foraging decisions by an aphid parasitoid in small host aggregations. Ecological Entomology, 23:319-329 (1998).