Handbook of Trait-Based Ecology: From Theory to R Tools

by Francesco de Bello, Carlos P. Carmona, André T. C. Dias, Lars Götzenberger, Marco Moretti

Overview

Functional ecology is the branch of ecology that focuses on various functions that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. This accessible guide offers the main concepts and tools in trait-based ecology, and their tricks, covering different trophic levels and organism types. It is designed for students, researchers and practitioners who wish to get a handy synthesis of existing concepts, tools and trends in trait-based ecology, and wish to apply it to their own field of interest. Where relevant, exercises specifically designed to be run in R are included, along with accompanying on-line resources including solutions for exercises and R functions, and updates reflecting current developments in this fast-changing field. Based on more than a decade of teaching experience, the authors developed and improved the way theoretical aspects and analytical tools of trait-based ecology are introduced and explained to readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108460750
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/11/2021
Pages:	308
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Francesco de Bello is a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Assistant Professor at the University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic. He has developed and applied several widely used tools to compute indices of functional diversity and assess community assembly mechanisms.

Carlos P. Carmona is an Associate Professor at the University of Tartu, Estonia. Currently he is working on the development of tools to assess functional diversity across scales while incorporating within-species trait variability.

André T. C. Dias is an Assistant Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil. His research uses trait-based approaches to understand both species response to environmental conditions and their effects on ecosystems processes.

Lars Götzenberger is a researcher at the Institute of Botany at the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic. His research focuses on how traits evolve and affect species co-existence at different spatial and temporal scales.

Marco Moretti is a Senior Scientist at the Swiss Federal Research Institute (WSL) in Birmensdorf, Switzerland. He uses trait-based approaches to assess the response of communities to global stressors and the effects on ecosystem processes within and across trophic levels.

Matty P. Berg is an Associated Professor at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands and an Affiliate Professor at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, the Netherlands. He uses trait-based approaches to study the assembly of soil fauna communities, amongst other related aspects.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. General Introduction; 2. Trait Selection and Standardization; 3. The Ecology of Differences: Groups vs. Continuum; 4. Response Traits and the Filtering Metaphor; 5. Community Metrics; 6. Intraspecific Trait Variability; 7. Community Assembly Rules; 8. Traits and Phylogenies; 9. Effects of Traits on Ecosystems Processes and Services; 10. Response and Effect Traits across Trophic Levels; 11. Trait Sampling Strategies; 12. Applied Trait-Based Ecology; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

‘… The authors … succeed in framing the topic and ongoing research in a broad context, including compelling examples from across the tree of life and from researchers from around the globe … Handbook of Trait-Based Ecology: From Theory to R Tools is an excellent starting place for readers interested in getting up to speed with trait-based ecology …’ Nathan J. B. Kraft, The Quarterly Review of Biology

From the Publisher