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Author: Michel Loreau
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400834163
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317
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Book Description
The major subdisciplines of ecology--population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, and evolutionary ecology--have diverged increasingly in recent decades. What is critically needed today is an integrated, real-world approach to ecology that reflects the interdependency of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. From Populations to Ecosystems proposes an innovative theoretical synthesis that will enable us to advance our fundamental understanding of ecological systems and help us to respond to today's emerging global ecological crisis. Michel Loreau begins by explaining how the principles of population dynamics and ecosystem functioning can be merged. He then addresses key issues in the study of biodiversity and ecosystems, such as functional complementarity, food webs, stability and complexity, material cycling, and metacommunities. Loreau describes the most recent theoretical advances that link the properties of individual populations to the aggregate properties of communities, and the properties of functional groups or trophic levels to the functioning of whole ecosystems, placing special emphasis on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Finally, he turns his attention to the controversial issue of the evolution of entire ecosystems and their properties, laying the theoretical foundations for a genuine evolutionary ecosystem ecology. From Populations to Ecosystems points the way to a much-needed synthesis in ecology, one that offers a fuller understanding of ecosystem processes in the natural world.
Author: Michel Loreau
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400834163
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317
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Book Description
The major subdisciplines of ecology--population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, and evolutionary ecology--have diverged increasingly in recent decades. What is critically needed today is an integrated, real-world approach to ecology that reflects the interdependency of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. From Populations to Ecosystems proposes an innovative theoretical synthesis that will enable us to advance our fundamental understanding of ecological systems and help us to respond to today's emerging global ecological crisis. Michel Loreau begins by explaining how the principles of population dynamics and ecosystem functioning can be merged. He then addresses key issues in the study of biodiversity and ecosystems, such as functional complementarity, food webs, stability and complexity, material cycling, and metacommunities. Loreau describes the most recent theoretical advances that link the properties of individual populations to the aggregate properties of communities, and the properties of functional groups or trophic levels to the functioning of whole ecosystems, placing special emphasis on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Finally, he turns his attention to the controversial issue of the evolution of entire ecosystems and their properties, laying the theoretical foundations for a genuine evolutionary ecosystem ecology. From Populations to Ecosystems points the way to a much-needed synthesis in ecology, one that offers a fuller understanding of ecosystem processes in the natural world.
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309095840
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 163
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Book Description
The exponentially increasing amounts of biological data along with comparable advances in computing power are making possible the construction of quantitative, predictive biological systems models. This development could revolutionize those biology-based fields of science. To assist this transformation, the U.S. Department of Energy asked the National Research Council to recommend mathematical research activities to enable more effective use of the large amounts of existing genomic information and the structural and functional genomic information being created. The resulting study is a broad, scientifically based view of the opportunities lying at the mathematical science and biology interface. The book provides a review of past successes, an examination of opportunities at the various levels of biological systemsâ€" from molecules to ecosystemsâ€"an analysis of cross-cutting themes, and a set of recommendations to advance the mathematics-biology connection that are applicable to all agencies funding research in this area.
Author: David A. Wardle
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691074879
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400
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Book Description
Soil.
Author: John Pastor
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444358456
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 358
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Book Description
MATHEMATICAL ECOLOGY Population ecologists study how births and deaths affect the dynamics of populations and communities, while ecosystem ecologists study how species control the flux of energy and materials through food webs and ecosystems. Although all these processes occur simultaneously in nature, the mathematical frameworks bridging the two disciplines have developed independently. Consequently, this independent development of theory has impeded the cross-fertilization of population and ecosystem ecology. Using recent developments from dynamical systems theory, this advanced undergraduate/graduate level textbook shows how to bridge the two disciplines seamlessly. The book shows how bifurcations between the solutions of models can help understand regime shifts in natural populations and ecosystems once thresholds in rates of births, deaths, consumption, competition, nutrient inputs, and decay are crossed. Mathematical Ecology is essential reading for students of ecology who have had a first course in calculus and linear algebra or students in mathematics wishing to learn how dynamical systems theory can be applied to ecological problems.
Author: D. L. DeAngelis
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351090364
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 577
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Book Description
Until fairly recently, populations were handled as homogenized averages, which made modeling feasible but which ignored the essential fact that in any population there is a great variety of individuals of different ages, sizes, and degrees of fitness. Recently, because of the increased availability of affordable computer power, approaches have been developed which are able to recognize individual differences. Individual-based models are of great use in the areas of aquatic ecology, terrestrial ecology, landscape or physiological ecology, terrestrial ecology, landscape or physiological ecology, and agriculture. This book discusses which biological problems individual-based models can solve, as well as the models' inherent limitations. It explores likely future directions of theoretical development in these models, as well as currently feasible management applications and the best mathematical approaches and computer languages to use. The book also details specific applications to theory and management.
Author: Samantha Fowler
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789888407453
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 618
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Book Description
Concepts of Biology is designed for the single-semester introduction to biology course for non-science majors, which for many students is their only college-level science course. As such, this course represents an important opportunity for students to develop the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to make informed decisions as they continue with their lives. Rather than being mired down with facts and vocabulary, the typical non-science major student needs information presented in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even more importantly, the content should be meaningful. Students do much better when they understand why biology is relevant to their everyday lives. For these reasons, Concepts of Biology is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand.We also strive to show the interconnectedness of topics within this extremely broad discipline. In order to meet the needs of today's instructors and students, we maintain the overall organization and coverage found in most syllabi for this course. A strength of Concepts of Biology is that instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Concepts of Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand--and apply--key concepts.
Author: Clive G. Jones
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461517737
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 403
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Book Description
I was asked to introduce this volume by examining "why a knowledge of ecosys tem functioning can contribute to understanding species activities, dynamics, and assemblages." I have found it surprisingly difficult to address this topic. On the one hand, the answer is very simple and general: because all species live in ecosystems, they are part of and dependent on ecosystem processes. It is impossible to understand the abundance and distribution of populations and the species diversity and composition of communities without a knowledge of their abiotic and biotic environments and of the fluxes of energy and mat ter through the ecosystems of which they are a part. But everyone knows this. It is what ecology is all about (e.g., Likens, 1992). It is why the discipline has retained its integrity and thrived, despite a sometimes distressing degree of bickering and chauvinism among its various subdisciplines: physiological, be havioral, population, community, and ecosystem ecology.
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies
ISBN: 0309039274
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 471
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Book Description
Biology has entered an era in which interdisciplinary cooperation is at an all-time high, practical applications follow basic discoveries more quickly than ever before, and new technologiesâ€"recombinant DNA, scanning tunneling microscopes, and moreâ€"are revolutionizing the way science is conducted. The potential for scientific breakthroughs with significant implications for society has never been greater. Opportunities in Biology reports on the state of the new biology, taking a detailed look at the disciplines of biology; examining the advances made in medicine, agriculture, and other fields; and pointing out promising research opportunities. Authored by an expert panel representing a variety of viewpoints, this volume also offers recommendations on how to meet the infrastructure needsâ€"for funding, effective information systems, and other supportâ€"of future biology research. Exploring what has been accomplished and what is on the horizon, Opportunities in Biology is an indispensable resource for students, teachers, and researchers in all subdisciplines of biology as well as for research administrators and those in funding agencies.
Author: Julianne Zedalis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781947172401
Category : Biology
Languages : en
Pages : 1923
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Book Description
Biology for AP® courses covers the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester Advanced Placement® biology course. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens. Biology for AP® Courses was designed to meet and exceed the requirements of the College Board’s AP® Biology framework while allowing significant flexibility for instructors. Each section of the book includes an introduction based on the AP® curriculum and includes rich features that engage students in scientific practice and AP® test preparation; it also highlights careers and research opportunities in biological sciences.
Author: Mark Vellend
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400883792
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247
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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.
