| Description |
1 online resource (xx, 409 pages) : illustrations |
| Contents |
Cover; Community Ecology; Copyright; Preface to 2nd Edition; Preface to 1st Edition; Acknowledgments to 2nd Edition; Acknowledgments to 1st Edition; Contents; CHAPTER 1. Community ecology's roots; What is a community?; The ecological niche; Whither competition theory?; New directions; PART I. The Big Picture: Patterns, Causes, and Consequences of Biodiversity; CHAPTER 2. Patterns of biological diversity; Assessing biological diversity; Alpha, beta, and gamma diversity; Patterns of biological diversity; Area and species richness; The distribution of species abundance |
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Productivity and species richnessThe latitudinal diversity gradient; A null model: geometric constraints and the "mid-domain effect"; Ecological hypotheses: climate and species richness; Historical hypotheses: the time-integrated area hypothesis and the concept of tropical niche conservatism; Evolutionary hypotheses: do rates of diversification differ across latitude?; Conclusion; Summary; CHAPTER 3. Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; Diversity and productivity; Mechanisms underlying the diversity-productivity relationship; Diversity, nutrient cycling, and nutrient retention |
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Diversity and stabilityTemporal stability; Diversity and invasibility; Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality; Unanswered questions (revisited); Multiple trophic levels; Community assembly or species loss?; Global extinction and local ecosystem functioning: is there a mismatch of spatial scales?; The invasion paradox; How important are diversity effects in nature?; The two sides of diversity and productivity; Conclusion; Summary; PART II. The Nitty-Gritty: Species Interactions in Simple Modules; CHAPTER 4. Population growth and density dependence; Exponential population growth |
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Logistic population growthThe debate over density dependence; Evidence for density dependence in nature; Bottom-up or top-down density dependence? and other questions; Positive density dependence and Allee effects; Community-level regulation of abundance and richness; Density dependence, rarity, and species richness; Conclusion; Summary; CHAPTER 5. The fundamentals of predator-prey interactions; Predator functional responses; The Lotka-Volterra model; Isocline analysis; Adding more realism to the Lotka-Volterra model; The Rosenzweig-MacArthur model; The suppression-stability trade-off |
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Density-dependent predatorsHerbivory and parasitism; Herbivory; Parasitism and disease; Summary; CHAPTER 6. Selective predators and responsive prey; Predator preference; Optimal foraging theory leads to a model of predator diet choice; Consequences of selective predation for species coexistence; Predator movement and habitat choice; The non-consumptive effects of predators; Habitat use and habitat shifts; Life history evolution; Activity levels and vigilance; Morphology; The relative importance of consumptive and non-consumptive effects; Looking ahead; Summary |
| Summary |
An accessible introduction to community ecology which looks at the linkages between communities separated in space (metacommunity dynamics), niche and neutral theory, the interplay between ecology and evolution (eco-evolutionary dynamics), and the influence of historical and regional processes in shaping patterns of biodiversity |
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"Community ecology has undergone a transformation in recent years, from a discipline largely focused on processes occurring within a local area to a discipline encompassing a much richer domain of study, including the linkages between communities separated in space (metacommunity dynamics), niche and neutral theory, the interplay between ecology and evolution (eco-evolutionary dynamics), and the influence of historical and regional processes in shaping patterns of biodiversity. To fully understand these new developments, however, students continue to need a strong foundation in the study of species interactions and how these interactions are assembled into food webs and other ecological networks. This new edition fulfils the book's original aims, both as a much-needed up-to-date and accessible introduction to modern community ecology, and in identifying the important questions that are yet to be answered. This research-driven textbook introduces state-of-the-art community ecology to a new generation of students, adopting reasoned and balanced perspectives on as-yet-unresolved issues. Community Ecology is suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers seeking a broad, up-to-date coverage of ecological concepts at the community level."--Publisher's description |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Biotic communities -- Research -- Methodology
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Biotic communities.
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Ecology.
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MATHEMATICS -- Applied.
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MATHEMATICS -- Probability & Statistics -- General.
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Ecology
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Biotic communities
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Biotic communities -- Research -- Methodology
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
McGill, Brian J., author.
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| ISBN |
9780192572868 |
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0192572865 |
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9780191873379 |
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0191873373 |
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