Dynamic Ecologies

Dynamic Ecologies PDF Author: Neil Murray
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400779720
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
This volume provides a fascinating glimpse into the complex language ecologies of Southeast Asia. Adopting a relational perspective, it considers their significance for the region, its peoples, the policy and practice of language teaching, learning and assessment and the fate of local languages. It gives particular prominence to the relationship between English and Chinese, it's likely transformation at a time of significant global change and the impact that these two languages and their synergy will have on the place of other languages and dialects. Dynamic Ecologies: A Relational Perspective on Languages Education in the Asia-Pacific Region draws on the research and insights of key scholars in the field and provides case studies that illustrate the impact of relevant language policy in countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia.

Dynamic Ecologies

Dynamic Ecologies PDF Author: Neil Murray
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400779720
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume provides a fascinating glimpse into the complex language ecologies of Southeast Asia. Adopting a relational perspective, it considers their significance for the region, its peoples, the policy and practice of language teaching, learning and assessment and the fate of local languages. It gives particular prominence to the relationship between English and Chinese, it's likely transformation at a time of significant global change and the impact that these two languages and their synergy will have on the place of other languages and dialects. Dynamic Ecologies: A Relational Perspective on Languages Education in the Asia-Pacific Region draws on the research and insights of key scholars in the field and provides case studies that illustrate the impact of relevant language policy in countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia.

Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology

Dynamic Modeling in Behavioral Ecology PDF Author: Marc Mangel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691085067
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
This book describes a powerful and flexible technique for the modeling of behavior, based on evolutionary principles. The technique employs stochastic dynamic programming and permits the analysis of behavioral adaptations wherein organisms respond to changes in their environment and in their own current physiological state. Models can be constructed to reflect sequential decisions concerned simultaneously with foraging, reproduction, predator avoidance, and other activities. The authors show how to construct and use dynamic behavioral models. Part I covers the mathematical background and computer programming, and then uses a paradigm of foraging under risk of predation to exemplify the general modeling technique. Part II consists of five "applied" chapters illustrating the scope of the dynamic modeling approach. They treat hunting behavior in lions, reproduction in insects, migrations of aquatic organisms, clutch size and parental care in birds, and movement of spiders and raptors. Advanced topics, including the study of dynamic evolutionarily stable strategies, are discussed in Part III.

The Theory of Ecological Communities (MPB-57)

The Theory of Ecological Communities (MPB-57) PDF Author: Mark Vellend
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691208999
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
A plethora of different theories, models, and concepts make up the field of community ecology. Amid this vast body of work, is it possible to build one general theory of ecological communities? What other scientific areas might serve as a guiding framework? As it turns out, the core focus of community ecology—understanding patterns of diversity and composition of biological variants across space and time—is shared by evolutionary biology and its very coherent conceptual framework, population genetics theory. The Theory of Ecological Communities takes this as a starting point to pull together community ecology's various perspectives into a more unified whole. Mark Vellend builds a theory of ecological communities based on four overarching processes: selection among species, drift, dispersal, and speciation. These are analogues of the four central processes in population genetics theory—selection within species, drift, gene flow, and mutation—and together they subsume almost all of the many dozens of more specific models built to describe the dynamics of communities of interacting species. The result is a theory that allows the effects of many low-level processes, such as competition, facilitation, predation, disturbance, stress, succession, colonization, and local extinction to be understood as the underpinnings of high-level processes with widely applicable consequences for ecological communities. Reframing the numerous existing ideas in community ecology, The Theory of Ecological Communities provides a new way for thinking about biological composition and diversity.

The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics

The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics PDF Author: Steward T.A. Pickett
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080504957
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 489

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Book Description
Ecologists are aware of the importance of natural dynamics in ecosystems. Historically, the focus has been on the development in succession of equilibrium communities, which has generated an understanding of the composition and functioning of ecosystems. Recently, many have focused on the processes of disturbances and the evolutionary significance of such events. This shifted emphasis has inspired studies in diverse systems. The phrase "patch dynamics" (Thompson, 1978) describes their common focus. The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics brings together the findings and ideas of those studying varied systems, presenting a synthesis of diverse individual contributions.

Dynamic Sustainabilities

Dynamic Sustainabilities PDF Author: Melissa Leach
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1136541667
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
Linking environmental sustainability with poverty reduction and social justice, and making science and technology work for the poor, have become central practical, political and moral challenges of our times. These must be met in a world of rapid, interconnected change in environments, societies and economies, and globalised, fragmented governance arrangements. Yet despite growing international attention and investment, policy attempts often fail. Why is this, and what can be done about it? How might we understand and address emergent threats from epidemic disease, or the challenges of water scarcity in dryland India? In the context of climate change, how might seed systems help African farmers meet their needs, and how might appropriate energy strategies be developed? This book lays out a new 'pathways approach' to address sustainability challenges such as these in today's dynamic world. Through an appreciation of dynamics, complexity, uncertainty, differing narratives and the values-based aims of sustainability, the pathways approach allows us to see how some approaches are dominant, even though they do not produce the desired results, and how to create successful alternative 'pathways' of responding to the challenges we face. As well as offering new ways of thinking about sustainability, the book also suggests a series of practical ways forward - in tools and methods, forms of political engagement, and styles of knowledge-making and communication. Throughout the book, the practicalities of the pathways approach are illustrated using four case studies: water in dryland India, agricultural seeds in Africa, responses to epidemic disease and energy systems/climate change. Published in association with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Complex Ecology

Complex Ecology PDF Author: Charles G. Curtin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108244335
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 595

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Book Description
From climate change to species extinction, humanity is confronted with an increasing array of societal and environmental challenges that defy simple quantifiable solutions. Complexity-based ecology provides a new paradigm for ecologists and conservationists keen to embrace the uncertainty that is pressed upon us. This book presents key research papers chosen by some sixty scholars from various continents, across a diverse span of sub-disciplines. The papers are set alongside first person commentary from many of the seminal voices involved, offering unprecedented access to experts' viewpoints. The works assembled also shed light on the process of science in general, showing how the shifting of wider perspectives allows for new ideas to take hold. Ideal for undergraduate and advanced students of ecology and conservation, their educators and those working across allied fields, this is the first book of its kind to focus on complexity-based approaches and provides a benchmark for future collected volumes.

The Structure and Dynamics of Human Ecosystems

The Structure and Dynamics of Human Ecosystems PDF Author: William R. Burch
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300231636
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
A landmark book that strives to provide both grand theory and practical application, innovatively describing the structure and dynamics of human ecosystems As the world faces ever more complex and demanding environmental and social challenges, the need for interdisciplinary models and practical guidance becomes acute. The Human Ecosystem Model described in this landmark book provides an innovative response. Broad in scope, detailed in method, at once theoretical and applied, this grand study offers an in-depth understanding of human ecosystems and tools for action. The authors draw from Goethe’s Faust, classic anthropology and sociology studies, contemporary ecosystem ecology, Buddhist ethics, and more to create a paradigm-shifting model and a major advance in interdisciplinary ecology.

Dynamic Food Webs

Dynamic Food Webs PDF Author: Peter C de Ruiter
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080460941
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 616

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Book Description
Dynamic Food Webs challenges us to rethink what factors may determine ecological and evolutionary pathways of food web development. It touches upon the intriguing idea that trophic interactions drive patterns and dynamics at different levels of biological organization: dynamics in species composition, dynamics in population life-history parameters and abundances, and dynamics in individual growth, size and behavior. These dynamics are shown to be strongly interrelated governing food web structure and stability and the role of populations and communities play in ecosystem functioning. Dynamic Food Webs not only offers over 100 illustrations, but also contains 8 riveting sections devoted to an understanding of how to manage the effects of environmental change, the protection of biological diversity and the sustainable use of natural resources. Dynamic Food Webs is a volume in the Theoretical Ecology series. - Relates dynamics on different levels of biological organization: individuals, populations, and communities - Deals with empirical and theoretical approaches - Discusses the role of community food webs in ecosystem functioning - Proposes methods to assess the effects of environmental change on the structure of biological communities and ecosystem functioning - Offers an analyses of the relationship between complexity and stability in food webs

Eco-evolutionary Dynamics

Eco-evolutionary Dynamics PDF Author: Andrew P. Hendry
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691204179
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description
In recent years, scientists have realized that evolution can occur on timescales much shorter than the 'long lapse of ages' emphasized by Darwin - in fact, evolutionary change is occurring all around us all the time. This work provides an authoritative and accessible introduction to eco-evolutionary dynamics, a cutting-edge new field that seeks to unify evolution and ecology into a common conceptual framework focusing on rapid and dynamic environmental and evolutionary change.

Modelling Complex Ecological Dynamics

Modelling Complex Ecological Dynamics PDF Author: Fred Jopp
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642050298
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Model development is of vital importance for understanding and management of ecological processes. Identifying the complex relationships between ecological patterns and processes is a crucial task. Ecological modelling—both qualitatively and quantitatively—plays a vital role in analysing ecological phenomena and for ecological theory. This textbook provides a unique overview of modelling approaches. Representing the state-of-the-art in modern ecology, it shows how to construct and work with various different model types. It introduces the background of each approach and its application in ecology. Differential equations, matrix approaches, individual-based models and many other relevant modelling techniques are explained and demonstrated with their use. The authors provide links to software tools and course materials. With chapters written by leading specialists, “Modelling Complex Ecological Dynamics” is an essential contribution to expand the qualification of students, teachers and scientists alike.