Handbook of Quantitative Ecology

by Justin Kitzes

Overview

"Students and other researchers entering the fields of ecology and conservation biology often come with little computational or mathematics training, leaving them feeling unprepared to participate in the quantitative aspects of research in these fields. In this "low threshold, high ceiling" introduction to the subject, Justin Kitzes, an ecologist who has taught students at both undergraduate and graduate levels, aims to remedy this situation. He argues that anyone with the ability and interest to study ecology can learn the basics of the most widely used methods in quantitative ecology. Specifically, Kitzes shows readers how to translate common biological questions into mathematical models, doing so using only basic algebra and the use of spreadsheets, without requiring any background in advanced mathematics or programming skills. Students and practicing conservation biologists who are mathematically out-of-practice or uncomfortable will find this book a useful and necessary resource"--

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226818320
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	07/20/2022
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Justin Kitzes is assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. He is coeditor of The Practice of Reproducible Research: Case Studies and Lessons from the Data-Intensive Sciences

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part I Change over Time
Chapter 1 Introducing Difference Equations
Chapter 2 Duckweed on a Pond: Exponential Growth
Chapter 3 Throwing Shade I: Logistic Growth
Chapter 4 Throwing Shade II: Lotka-Volterra Competition
Chapter 5 Rabies Removal: SIR Models
Part II Understanding Uncertainty
Chapter 6 Introducing Probability
Chapter 7 A Bird in the Cam I: Single-Variable Probability
Chapter 8 A Bird in the Cam II: Two-Variable Probability
Chapter 9 Picking Ticks: Bayes’s Rule
Chapter 10 Rabbit Rates: Probability Distributions
Part III Modeling Multiple States
Chapter 11 Introducing Matrix Models
Chapter 12 Imagine All the Beetles: Age-Structured Models
Chapter 13 The Road to Succession: Transition Matrices
Chapter 14 A Pair of Populations: Absorption
Chapter 15 Fish Finders: Diffusion
Part IV Explaining Data
Chapter 16 Introducing Statistics
Chapter 17 Seedling Counts I: Maximum Likelihood
Chapter 18 Seedling Counts II: Model Selection
Chapter 19 Flattened Frogs I: Generalized Linear Models
Chapter 20 Flattened Frogs II: Hypothesis Testing
Part V Expanding the Toolbox
Chapter 21 Other Techniques
Chapter 22 Bird Islands: Graphical Thinking
Chapter 23 Max Plant Institute: Optimization
Chapter 24 Bears with Me: Stochastic Simulation
Chapter 25 Natives in the Neighborhood: Cellular Automata
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Handbook of Quantitative Ecology is most valuable. The book clearly, briefly, and gently introduces readers to many quantitative approaches one can find used in ecology today. . . . This book can (and should) be given to the enthusiastic undergraduate with an interest in ecology, the master’s or PhD student with little to no mathematical training, or a professor looking to develop or reshape a course in quantitative biology. The author beautifully illustrates how effective quantitative analysis can be for solving ecological questions."

Quarterly Review of Biology

A stroke of genius. Kitzes does an excellent job of translating the properties of biological systems into mathematical models, using basic logic and without any advanced math. His approach is a powerful way to demystify these models and make them intuitive.

Corlett Wolfe Wood

"Quantitative ecology is the application of mathematical modeling and probability theory to ecological concepts. Kitzes provides a short introduction to the quantitative methods most relevant to an introductory undergraduate course in ecology. In addition to short chapters introducing the methods of quantitative ecology, 20 chapters each present a simple example that can be studied through a quantitative method. Each chapter extends to four or five pages. After presenting the chapter's problem, the appropriate mathematical method is explained. Kitzes presents readers with specific instructions on setting up the mathematical model in a spreadsheet. His writing style is very clear, employing only minimal jargon. The mathematics is limited to algebra, presenting a low barrier to students without much mathematical background. The methods include difference equations, probability, matrix models, and several others. . . . Recommended."

Choice

A low-threshold, high-ceiling introduction. Kitzes’s book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students who wish to increase their quantitative understanding to be able to better engage with the literature (which has grown increasingly quantitative) and take the first step—a large leap, in fact—toward becoming practitioners of quantitative ecology.

Andrew Rominger

"Handbook of Quantitative Ecology is most valuable. The book clearly, briefly, and gently introduces readers to many quantitative approaches one can find used in ecology today . . . This book can (and should) be given to the enthusiastic undergraduate with an interest in ecology, the master’s or PhD student with little to no mathematical training, or a professor looking to develop or reshape a course in quantitative biology. The author beautifully illustrates how effective quantitative analysis can be for solving ecological questions."

The Quarterly Review of Biology

"Handbook of Quantitative Ecology is most valuable. The book clearly, briefly, and gently introduces readers to many quantitative approaches one can find used in ecology today . . . This book can (and should) be given to the enthusiastic undergraduate with an interest in ecology, the master's or PhD student with little to no mathematical training, or a professor looking to develop or reshape a course in quantitative biology. The author beautifully illustrates how effective quantitative analysis can be for solving ecological questions."-- "The Quarterly Review of Biology"

"Quantitative ecology is the application of mathematical modeling and probability theory to ecological concepts. Kitzes provides a short introduction to the quantitative methods most relevant to an introductory undergraduate course in ecology. In addition to short chapters introducing the methods of quantitative ecology, 20 chapters each present a simple example that can be studied through a quantitative method. Each chapter extends to four or five pages. After presenting the chapter's problem, the appropriate mathematical method is explained. Kitzes presents readers with specific instructions on setting up the mathematical model in a spreadsheet. His writing style is very clear, employing only minimal jargon. The mathematics is limited to algebra, presenting a low barrier to students without much mathematical background. The methods include difference equations, probability, matrix models, and several others. . . . Recommended."-- "Choice"

"A low-threshold, high-ceiling introduction. Kitzes's book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students who wish to increase their quantitative understanding to be able to better engage with the literature (which has grown increasingly quantitative) and take the first step--a large leap, in fact--toward becoming practitioners of quantitative ecology."--Andrew Rominger, University of Maine

"A stroke of genius. Kitzes does an excellent job of translating the properties of biological systems into mathematical models, using basic logic and without any advanced math. His approach is a powerful way to demystify these models and make them intuitive."--Corlett Wolfe Wood, University of Pennsylvania

From the Publisher