Essentials of Ecology, 3rd Edition

by Colin R. Townsend (Conservation and Biodiversity Research Group at Otago, New Zealand); Michael Begon (University of Liverpool); John L. Harper (University of Exeter)

• ISBN13: 9781405156585
• ISBN10: 1405156589
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-03-01
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This textbook presents introductory ecology in an accessible, state-of-the-art format designed to cultivate the novice student's understanding of, and fascination with, the natural world. In a concise, engaging style, this text outlines the essential principles of ecology from the theoretical fundamentals to their practical applications. Full color artwork, simple pedagogical features, and a wide range of carefully-chosen examples make this book an ideal introduction to ecology for students at all levels.The third edition of this successful text is much more than a simple update, reflecting the vibrancy of the field. With hundreds of new examples, it contains for the first time a separate chapter on evolutionary ecology, with all other chapters, especially those on applied aspects, having been extensively revised and re-written. The new edition also features new artwork and an enhanced design, making this book as attractive as it is up-to-date and relevant.Outstanding features of the third edition of Essentials of Ecology include: Dedicated website - available at www.blackwellpublishing.com/townsend, featuring study resources and web research questions Key Concepts - summarized at the beginning of each chapter History boxes outlining key landmarks in the development of ecology Quantitative boxes - allowing mathematical aspects of ecology to be explained clearly without interrupting the flow of the text Topical ECOncerns boxes - highlighting ethical, social and political questions in ecology Review questions - included at the end of each chapter

Author Biography

Colin R. Townsend is the Director of the Ecology, Conservation and Biodiversity Research Group at the University of Otago. He has published over 150 ecology papers and books, including the best-selling and award-winning Ecology, 4th Edition, with co-authors Michael Begon and John L. Harper. He is also co-editor of the international journal Freshwater Biology.

Michael Begon is Professor of Ecology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Liverpool. He has authored several books in addition to Ecology and around 150 research articles. His current research interests are focused on the population ecology of pathogens in wildlife populations.

John L. Harper is an award-winning biologist and a leading figure in plant population biology. He has served as a council member of the Fellowship of the Royal Society and received the Darwin Arward in 1990. He is also the author of Population Biology of Plants and a co-author of Ecology.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. x
Acknowledgments	p. xii
Introduction	p. 1
Ecology and how to do it	p. 3
Introduction	p. 4
Scales, diversity and rigor	p. 7
Ecology in practice	p. 17
Ecology's evolutionary backdrop	p. 36
Introduction	p. 37
Evolution by natural selection	p. 37
Evolution within species	p. 41
The ecology of speciation	p. 51
Effects of climatic change on the evolution and distribution of species	p. 58
Effects of continental drift on the ecology of evolution	p. 60
Interpreting the results of evolution: convergents and parallels	p. 63
Conditions and Resources	p. 67
Physical conditions and the availability of resources	p. 69
Introduction	p. 70
Environmental conditions	p. 71
Plant resources	p. 84
Animals and their resources	p. 95
Effects of intraspecific competition for resources	p. 103
Conditions, resources and the ecological niche	p. 106
Conditions, resources and the world's communities	p. 110
Introduction	p. 111
Geographic patterns at large and small scales	p. 111
Temporal patterns in conditions and resources	p. 117
Terrestrial biomes	p. 119
Aquatic environments	p. 130
Individuals, Populations, Communities and Ecosystems	p. 143
Birth, death and movement	p. 145
Introduction	p. 146
Life cycles	p. 151
Monitoring birth and death: life tables and fecundity schedules	p. 156
Dispersal and migration	p. 164
The impact of intraspecific competition on populations	p. 169
Life history patterns	p. 175
Interspecific competition	p. 182
Introduction	p. 183
Ecological effects of interspecific competition	p. 183
Evolutionary effects of interspecific competition	p. 197
Interspecific competition and community structure	p. 200
How significant is interspecific competition in practice?	p. 208
Predation, grazing and disease	p. 217
Introduction	p. 218
Prey fitness and abundance	p. 220
The subtleties of predation	p. 222
Predator behavior: foraging and transmission	p. 228
Population dynamics of predation	p. 233
Predation and community structure	p. 246
Evolutionary ecology	p. 251
Introduction	p. 252
Molecular ecology: differentiation within and between species	p. 253
Coevolutionary arms races	p. 262
Mutualistic interactions	p. 267
From populations to communities	p. 281
Introduction	p. 282
Multiple determinants of the dynamics of populations	p. 283
Dispersal, patches and metapopulation dynamics	p. 294
Temporal patterns in community composition	p. 299
Food webs	p. 307
Patterns in species richness	p. 323
Introduction	p. 324
A simple model of species richness	p. 326
Spatially varying factors that influence species richness	p. 328
Temporally varying factors that influence species richness	p. 337
Gradients of species richness	p. 340
Patterns in taxon richness in the fossil record	p. 349
Appraisal of patterns in species richness	p. 352
The flux of energy and matter through ecosystems	p. 357
Introduction	p. 358
Primary productivity	p. 360
The fate of primary productivity	p. 364
The process of decomposition	p. 369
The flux of matter through ecosystems	p. 374
Global biogeochemical cycles	p. 380
Applied Issues in Ecology	p. 387
Sustainability	p. 389
Introduction	p. 390
The human population 'problem'	p. 391
Harvesting living resources from the wild	p. 399
The farming of monocultures	p. 405
Pest control	p. 412
Integrated farming systems	p. 417
Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change	p. 419
Habitat degradation	p. 423
Introduction	p. 424
Degradation via cultivation	p. 428
Power generation and its diverse effects	p. 435
Degradation in urban and industrial landscapes	p. 442
Maintenance and restoration of ecosystem services	p. 448
Conservation	p. 455
Introduction	p. 456
Threats to biodiversity	p. 459
Conservation in practice	p. 468
Conservation in a changing world	p. 476
Finale	p. 479
References	p. 483
Index	p. 495
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