Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems

by May, Robert M.

• ISBN13: 9780691088617
• ISBN10: 0691088616
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-02-26
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

What makes populations stabilize? What makes them fluctuate? Are populations in complex ecosystems more stable than populations in simple ecosystems? In 1973, Robert May addressed these questions in this classic book. May investigated the mathematical roots of population dynamics and argued-counter to most current biological thinking-that complex ecosystems in themselves do not lead to population stability.Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystemsplayed a key role in introducing nonlinear mathematical models and the study of deterministic chaos into ecology, a role chronicled in James Gleick's bookChaos. In the quarter century since its first publication, the book's message has grown in power. Nonlinear models are now at the center of ecological thinking, and current threats to biodiversity have made questions about the role of ecosystem complexity more crucial than ever. In a new introduction, the author addresses some of the changes that have swept biology and the biological world since the book's first publication.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Preface to the Second Edition	ix
Introduction to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition	xi
Introduction	3	(10)
Mathematical Models and Stability	13	(24)
Stability versus Complexity in Multispecies Models	37	(42)
Models with Few Species: Limit Cycles and Time Delays	79	(30)
Randomly Fluctuating Environments	109	(30)
Niche Overlap and Limiting Similarity	139	(33)
Speculations	172	(15)
Appendices	187	(24)
Afterthoughts for the Second Edition	211	(23)
Bibliography to Afterthoughts	234	(7)
Bibliography	241	(18)
Author Index	259	(4)
Subject Index	263