Ecology

by Dodson, Stanley I.; Allen, Timothy F. H.; Carpenter, Stephen R.; Ives, Anthony R.; Jeanne, Robert L.; Kitchell, James F.; Langston, Nancy E.; Turner, Monica G.

• ISBN13: 9780195120790
• ISBN10: 0195120795
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-03-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Ecology is a diverse science, made up of a number of distinct disciplines,rather than being a single unified science. This book focuses on the ideastechniques that separate different approaches to the study of ecology. Each ofthe authors, an expert in a specific type of ecology, speaks for thedistinctness of that specialization. The book discusses six kinds of ecology;landscape, physiological, ecosystem , population, community, and behavioralecology. For each, the authors explore how it is unique, the appropriate theoryand technology, the kinds of questions that are asked, and the successes andpossibilities for the future. This discussion is set in a context of the humanrelationship to nature, with an emphasis on practical applications of ecology.Fundamental Ecology is unique is that it presents ecology as being composed ofa number of different ways of knowing, seeing, or asking questions. The bookfocuses on the kinds of questions ecologists ask about their world, rather thanon accumulated ecological knowledge.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii	(2)
Acknowledgments	ix	(3)
Contributors	xii
1 WHAT IS ECOLOGY? Looking at Nature from Different Perspectives	1	(24)
Stanley I. Dodson
2 PEOPLE AND NATURE Understanding the Changing Interactions Between People and Ecological Systems	25	(52)
Nancy E. Langston
3 LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY Living in a Mosaic	77	(46)
Monica G. Turner
4 ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY Integrated Physical, Chemical and Biological Processes	123	(40)
Stephen R. Carpenter
5 PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY Tradeoffs for Individuals	163	(36)
James F. Kitchell
6 BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY Investigating the Adaptive Value of Behavior	199	(36)
Robert L. Jeanne
7 POPULATION ECOLOGY The Waxing and Waning of Populations	235	(80)
Anthony R. Ives
8 COMMUNITY ECOLOGY The Issue at the Center	315	(70)
Timothy F.H. Allen
References	385	(12)
Glossary	397	(14)
Index	411