Author: Eric G. Bolen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780471131564
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 468
Get Book Here
Book Description
From windswept tundra to humid subtropical everglades, fromgracious coniferous forests to austere deserts, North America isblessed with an incredibly diverse array of natural environments,each supporting a unique system of plant and animal life. Thesesystems--also known as biomes--are tightly woven webs of life thathave taken millennia to evolve. This lavishly illustrated bookintroduces readers to this extraordinary array of naturalcommunities and to the subtle interactions of minerals, plants, andanimals that take place within them. Professor Eric Bolen takes a qualitative, intuitive approach to hissubject, beginning with an overview of essential ecological termsand concepts, such as competitive exclusion, taxa, niches, andsuccession. Then, biome by biome, he covers the entirety of Canadaand the United States, starting with the tundra of the far northand working his way south and then west to conclude in the desertsand chaparral of southern California. Along the way, he delves intopertinent conservation issues and features fascinating historicalvignettes and original documents detailing human impact on variousenvironments--for instance, the role of John Deere's plow insettling grasslands, and the use of fur records from Hudson's BayCompany. Throughout, he enlivens the text with dozens of exquisitephotographs and illuminating maps, graphs, charts, andtables. Ecology of North America is an ideal first text for studentsinterested in natural resources, environmental science, andbiology, and it is a useful and attractive addition to the libraryof anyone interested in understanding and protecting the naturalenvironment.
Author: Victor Ernest Shelford
Publisher: Urbana : University of Illinois Press
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 648
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Darold P. Batzer
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520271645
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 404
Get Book Here
Book Description
“Wetland Habitats of North America is essential reading for everyone who studies, manages, or visits North American wetlands. It fills an important void in the wetland literature, providing accessible and succinct descriptions of all of the continent’s major wetland types.” Arnold van der Valk, Iowa State University “Batzer and Baldwin have compiled the most comprehensive compendium of North American wetland habitats and their ecology that is presently available—a must for wetland scientists and managers.” Irving A. Mendelssohn, Louisiana State University "If you want to gain a broad understanding of the ecology of North America’s diverse wetlands, Wetland Habitats of North America is the book for you. Darold Batzer and Andrew Baldwin have assembled an impressive group of regional wetland scientists who have produced a virtual encyclopedia to the continent’s wetlands. Reading the book is like a road trip across the Americas with guided tours of major wetland types by local experts. Your first stop will be to coastal wetlands with eight chapters covering tidal wetlands along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. Then you’ll travel inland where you can visit any or all of 18 types ranging from bottomland swamps of the Southeast to pothole marshes of the Northern Prairies to montane wetlands of the Rockies to tropical swamps of Central America and desert springs wetlands. All in one book—I’m impressed! Every wetlander should add this book to her or his swampland library. Ralph Tiner, University of Massachusetts–Amherst
Author: Harold A. Mooney
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461249880
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Get Book Here
Book Description
The diversity of the earth's climates superimposed upon a complex configuration of physical features has provided the conditions for the evolution of a remarkable array of living things which are linked together into complex ecosystems. The kinds of organisms comprising the ecosystems of the world, and the nature of their interactions, have constantly changed through time due to coevolutionary interactions along with the effects of a continually changing physical environ ment. In recent evolutionary time there has been a dramatic and ever-accelerating rate of change in the configuration of these ecosystems because of the increasing influence of human beings. These changes range from subtle modifications caused by anthropogenically induced alterations in atmospheric properties to the total destruction of ecosystems. Many of these modifications have provided the fuel, food, and fiber which have allowed the expansion of human populations. Unfortunately, there have been many unanticipated changes which accompanied these modifications which have had effects detrimental to human welfare in cluding substantial changes in water and air quality. For example, the use of high-sulfur coal to produce energy in parts of North America is altering the properties of freshwater lakes and forests because of acidification.
Author: Lawrence E. Stevens
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816526451
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 432
Get Book Here
Book Description
A collection of articles on the ecology of North American desert springs, by authors from the fields of biology, botany, ichthyology, conservation, geology and law; and covering both the special traits of springs and the ways in which they might be managed in order to survive.
Author: John D. Wehr
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0123858771
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1067
Get Book Here
Book Description
Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification, Second Edition is an authoritative and practical treatise on the classification, biodiversity, and ecology of all known genera of freshwater algae from North America. The book provides essential taxonomic and ecological information about one of the most diverse and ubiquitous groups of organisms on earth. This single volume brings together experts on all the groups of algae that occur in fresh waters (also soils, snow, and extreme inland environments). In the decade since the first edition, there has been an explosion of new information on the classification, ecology, and biogeography of many groups of algae, with the use of molecular techniques and renewed interest in biological diversity. Accordingly, this new edition covers updated classification information of most algal groups and the reassignment of many genera and species, as well as new research on harmful algal blooms. - Extensive and complete - Describes every genus of freshwater algae known from North America, with an analytical dichotomous key, descriptions of diagnostic features, and at least one image of every genus. - Full-color images throughout provide superb visual examples of freshwater algae - Updated Environmental Issues and Classifications, including new information on harmful algal blooms (HAB) - Fully revised introductory chapters, including new topics on biodiversity, and taste and odor problems - Updated to reflect the rapid advances in algal classification and taxonomy due to the widespread use of DNA technologies
Author: Robert Askins
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300093160
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 348
Get Book Here
Book Description
This accessible book draws on recent research on bird species and their habitats to explain how basic principles of bird ecology and landscape ecology can help us create scientifically sound plans for protecting and restoring the rich diversity of North American birds. This edition includes an afterword that reviews noteworthy literature that has appeared since the first edition was completed in 1999. This new material--on such key issues as the importance of preserving large expanses of natural habitat, the importance of maintaining early successional habitats, and the habitat requirements of neotropical migrants--shows how the research on landscape ecology of birds has shaped conservation policy more rapidly than most would have predicted. Praise for the earlier edition: "This book is first-rate--very broad in scope and appeal, readable, and truly integrative in its coverage of landscape ecology and its implications for avian conservation biology. . . . It will be of significant interest to researchers and students of conservation biology, ornithology and ecology; land managers; conservation agencies; and anyone with an interest in protecting the rich avian diversity of North America."--Trevor E. Pitcher, American Scientist "This wonderful book . . . is especially relevant for conservation biologists from all walks of life."--Kathryn E. Sieving, Auk "An enjoyable read for anyone, from the amateur birder to the professional scientist."--J. Michael Reed, Ecology
Author: Guy R. McPherson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521009751
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 188
Get Book Here
Book Description
The science of ecology and the practice of resource management are critical to our understanding of the Earth's ecosystems and our efforts to conserve them. This book attempts to bridge the gap between ecology and natural resource management and in particular, focuses on the discipline of plant ecology as a foundation for vegetation and wildlife management. It describes how concepts and approaches used by ecologists to study communities and ecosystems can be applied to their management. Guy R. McPherson and Stephen DeStefano emphasise the importance of thoughtfully designed and carefully conducted scientific studies to both the advancement of ecological knowledge and the application of techniques for the management of plant and animal populations. The book is aimed at natural resource managers, as well as graduate and advanced undergraduate students, who are familiar with fundamental ecological principles and who want to use ecological knowledge as a basis for the management of ecosystems.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biogeography
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Get Book Here
Book Description
This volume represents a first attempt at holistically classifying and mapping ecological regions across all three countries of the North American continent. A common analytical methodology is used to examine North American ecology at multiple scales, from large continental ecosystems to subdivisions of these that correlate more detailed physical and biological settings with human activities on two levels of successively smaller units. The volume begins with an overview of North America from an ecological perspective, concepts of ecological regionalization. This is followed by descriptions of the 15 broad ecological regions, including information on physical and biological setting and human activities. The final section presents case studies in applications of the ecological characterization methodology to environmental issues. The appendix includes a list of common and scientific names of selected species characteristic of the ecological regions.
Author: Brain F. Chabot
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400948301
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 704
Get Book Here
Book Description
Although, as W.D. Billings notes in his chapter in this book. the development of physiological ecology can be traced back to the very beginnings of the study of ecology it is clear that the modern development of this field in North America is due in the large part to the efforts of Billings alone. The foundation that Billings laid in the late 1950s came from his own studies on deserts and subsequently arctic and alpine plants, and also from his enormous success in instilling enthusiasm for the field in the numerous students attracted to the plant ecology program at Duke University. Billings' own studies provided the model for subsequent work in this field. Physiological techniques. normally confined to the laboratory. were brought into the field to examine processes under natural environmental conditions. These field studies were accompanied by experiments under controlled conditions where the relative impact of various factors could be assessed and further where genetic as opposed to environmental influences could be separated. This blending of field and laboratory approaches promoted the design of experiments which were of direct relevance to understanding the distribution and abundance of plants in nature. Physiological mechanisms were studied and assessed in the context of the functioning of plants under natural conditions rather than as an end in itself.
