Size-Structured Populations: Ecology and Evolution

At last both ecology and evolution are covered in this study on the dynamics of size-structured populations. How does natural selection shape growth patterns and life cycles of individuals, and hence the size-structure of populations? This book will stimulate biologists to look into some important and interesting biological problems from a new angle of approach, concerning: - life history evolution, - intraspecific competition and niche theory, - structure and dynamics of ecological communities.

From the contents: The Evolution of Growth Patterns and Size.- The Measurement of Selection on Size and Growth.- Size, Scaling, and the Evolution of Complex Life Cycles.- Population Models Incorporating Physiological Structure: A Quick Survey of the Basic Concepts and Application to Size-Structured Population Dynamics in Waterfleas.- Maximum Sustainable Yields and the Self-Renewal of Exploited Populations with Age-Dependent Vital Rates.- Interactions in Size-Structured Populations: From Individual Behavior to Ecosystem Dynamics.- Resource Depletion and Habitat Segregation by Competitors under Predation Hazard.- Exploitation, Competition and the Evolution of Interference, Cannibalism, and Intraguild Predation in Age/Size-Structured Populations.- Asymmetries in Competitive and Predatory Interactions in Fish Populations.- Trophic Relations and Ontogenetic Niche Shifts in Aquatic Ecosystems.- Community Responses to Experimental Nutrient Perturbations in Oligotrophic Lakes: the Importance of Bottlenecks in Size-Structured Populations.- Size-Abundance Relations in Plants and Animals.