Dave Walter has more than 30 years experience in the study of mites in Australia, the United States, and Canada and is an author of numerous research papers, book chapters, books, interactive keys, and webpages on mite ecology, behaviour, systematics and identification. He is especially interested in the roles that mites play in biological diversity in the soil and in the canopy of rainforests and in the interactions of mites with plants and animals. Dave was formerly a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland and a Senior Research Scientist at Colorado State University. Currently, Dave is a scientist at the Royal Alberta Museum where he is responsible for taxonomic advice and mite identifications for the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Acarology, and an Adjunct Professor at both the University of Alberta and the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Heather Proctor is a native of Alberta, Canada, where she spent many hours of her childhood collecting and watching freshwater invertebrates. Her undergraduate thesis research at the University of Alberta focused on the diversity of Albertan water mites, and was followed by an M.Sc. (U. Calgary) and Ph.D. (U.Toronto) on the predatory and reproductive biology of these fascinating animals. She has held academic positions at Queen's University in Ontario, Griffith University in Queensland, and the University of Alberta where she is now a professor. Her acarological research interests have expanded to include mites associated with birds and soil as well as water.
From the book reviews: This is a very readable, easy-to-follow book. It starts with a brief introduction about mites and their ecological role and continues with the intricacies of mite biology. ... Thanks to the well-organized, end-of chapter references, these readers can locate some of the original works on the subject. ... It is also very well written and designed and provides more illustrations than its predecessor. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. (J. M. Gonzalez, Choice, Vol. 51 (9), May, 2014) This book is the second edition of an overview of the mites (Acari), which explores their fascinating biology, with emphasis on ecology, evolution and behaviour. ... this outstanding book is highly recommended for amateur and professional biologists, interested students, specializing acarologists and for libraries. ... The entire book is written in a `friendly', clear, non-obtuse style with scientific terms explained, and it gains much by the many illuminating Figures. (Uri Gerson, Experimental and Applied Acarology, Vol. 64, 2014)