Community Ecology

by Peter J. Morin (Rutgers University, New Bruswick)

• ISBN13: 9780865423503
• ISBN10: 0865423504
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-07-01
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Community ecology: the study of the patterns and processes involving two or more species - has developed rapidly in the last two decades, driven by new and more sophisticated research techniques, advances in mathematical theory and modeling, and the increasing pressure on the environment wrought by humans. Once a purely descriptive science, it is now one of the most forward-looking areas of scientific inquiry.Morin skillfully guides the reader through the main tenets and central concepts of community ecology - competition, predation, food webs, indirect effects, habitat selection, diversity, and succession.In an attempt to introduce the reader to the most balanced coverage possible, Morin includes examples drawn from both the aquatic and terrestrial realm and from both plant and animal species. Balancing theory with experimentation and drawing on exciting new studies to complement the historical foundations of the discipline, he also stresses that both the empirical and theoretical approaches are necessary to drive ecology foward into the new millenium.The final chapter on applied community ecology ably demonstrates how community ecological processes have a wide environmental relevance. Although in its infancy, the application of community ecology to emerging problems in human-dominated ecosystems could mitigate problems as diverse as management strategies for important diseases transmitted by animals and the restoration and reconstruction of viable communities.Required reading for all students and practitioners interested in community phenomena, Community Ecology marks an important contribution to the development of this protean discipline. The first serious textbook for a decade on one of the keystone subdisciplines of ecology. Broad taxonomic and habitat coverage. Section on implications of community ecology for environmental issues.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
PART I COMMUNITIES: BASIC PATTERNS AND ELEMENTARY PROCESSES	3	(232)
1. Communities	3	(26)
2. Competition: Mechanisms, Models, and Niches	29	(38)
3. Competition: Experiments, Observations, and Null Models	67	(37)
4. Predation and Communities: Empirical Patterns	104	(32)
5. Models of Predation in Simple Communities	136	(18)
6. Food Webs	154	(31)
7. Mutualisms	185	(20)
8. Indirect Effects	205	(30)
PART II FACTORS INFLUENCING INTERACTIONS AMONG SPECIES	235	(70)
9. Temporal Patterns: Seasonal Dynamics, Priority Effects, and Assembly Rules	235	(24)
10. Habitat Selection	259	(15)
11. Spatial Dynamics, Recruitment-Limited Patterns, and Island Biogeography	274	(31)
PART III LARGE-SCALE, INTEGRATIVE COMMUNITY PHENOMENA	305	(71)
12. Causes and Consequences of Diversity	305	(34)
13. Succession	339	(27)
14. Applied Community Ecology	366	(10)
Appendix: Stability Analysis	376	(4)
Bibliography	380	(29)
Index	409