The Ecological World View

by Charles Krebs

Overview

This new textbook fills an important niche by offering a lively overview of the principles of ecology for a broad range of university-level science and biology courses. Written for those who need to understand key ecological concepts but may specialise in other fields, it is filled with many vivid examples of topical issues and current events.

The Ecological World View briefly covers the history of ecology and describes the general approach of the scientific method, then takes a wide-ranging look at basic principles of population dynamics and applies them to everyday practical problems.

Each chapter clearly presents key concepts and learning objectives, combined with thought-provoking, open-ended questions to facilitate discussion. Stimulating, appealing and written in non-technical language, this is an essential resource for understanding how the ecological world works.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780643100015
Publisher:	CSIRO PUBLISHING
Publication date:	01/09/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	592
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Charles Krebs is Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the University of British Columbia and Professor in Ecology at the Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra. He is author of Ecology: the Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance (fifth edition) and Ecological Methodology (second edition), among other books.

Table of Contents

Preface
An Introduction to Ecology
Geographic Ecology
What Limits Geographic Distribution?
Behavioral Ecology: Evolution in Action
Population dynamics—Abundance in Space
Population Dynamics—Abundance in Time
Negative Species Interactions—Predation, Herbivory and Competition
Negative Species Interactions—Infection and Parasitism
Positive Interaction Between Species—Mutualism and Commensalism
Population Regulation and the Balance of Nature
Community Dynamics—Succession
Community Dynamics—Biodiversity
Community Dynamics—Food Webs
Community Dynamics—Disturbance Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology—Energy Flows and Production
Ecosystem Ecology—Nutrient Recycling
Landscape Ecology—Intermingled Ecosystems
Harvesting Populations—How to Fish Sustainably
Pest Control: Why We Cannot Eliminate Pests
Conservation Biology: Endangered Species and Ecosystems
Ecosystem Health and Human Impacts
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A lively overview . . . that can be used to teach both science majors and non-science majors at the college level. . . . Written in a nontechnical language, yet it covers the history of ecology and its scientific methodology accurately and lucidly."—Bioscience

"Provides clear explanations of the major ideas in ecology."—Ecology

Editorial Reviews

A lively overview . . . that can be used to teach both science majors and non-science majors at the college level. . . . Written in a nontechnical language, yet it covers the history of ecology and its scientific methodology accurately and lucidly.

Bioscience - Gary W. Barrett

Provides clear explanations of the major ideas in ecology.

Ecology - Ben Steele