Synopses & Reviews
In the decade since the last edition of this classic text, vast changes have occurred in the ecological landscape. There is increased awareness of the importance of scale, the role of disturbance, the necessity for conservation, the potential for restoration, and the power of genetics in understanding relationships among organisms. Building on traditional foundations--evolution and adaptation, energy flow, population and community interactions, and behavioral ecology--the new edition of Ecology emphasizes modern concepts and approaches to present an accessible and comprehensive treatment of the field of ecology.
Table of Contents
Part 1. Introduction 1. The Order of the Natural World
2. Discovering the Order of Nature
Part 2. Organisms in Physical Environments
3. Life and the Physical Environment
4. Water and Solute Balance
5. Energy and Heat
6. Responses to Variation in the Environment
7. Biological Factors in the Environment
8. Climate, Topography, and the Diversity of the Natural World
Part 3. Energy and the Materials in the Ecosystem
9. The Ecosystem Concept
10. Energy Flow in Ecosystems
11. Pathways of Elements in Ecosystems
12. Nutrient Regeneration in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems
13. Regulation of Ecosystem Function
Part 4. Population Ecology
14. Population Structure
15. Population Growth
16. Population Regulation
17. Metapopulations
18. Population Fluctuations and Cycles
19. Extinction, Conservation, and Restoration
Part 5. Population Interactions
20. Resources and Consumers
21. Competition Theory
22. Competition in Nature
23. Predation
24. Herbivory and Parasitism
25. Coevolution and Mutualism
Part 6. Community Ecology
26. The Concept of the Community
27. Structure of the Community
28. Community Development
29. Biodiversity
Part 7. Evolutionary Ecology
30. Evolution and Adaptations
31. Adaptations to Heterogeneous Environments
32. Evolution of Life Histories
33. Sex
34. Evolution and Social Behavior
Glossary
Answers to Problems
Bibliography
Index