Elements of Ecology - 7th Edition

Paperback  736 pages  ISBN 9780321561473      £50.00

Please note: This title is not available from CPL Press in North America or Australasia - please contact a local source

Field Studies discuss ecological research performed by young up-and-coming scientists, and challenge students to interpret the results of the featured research.

Quantifying Ecology boxes help students develop the quantitative skills they need to interpret ecological data, research, and models. Skills are reinforced by a set of follow-up questions and links to GRAPHit! and QUANTIFYit! on the Companion Website (www.ecologyplace.com).

Ecological Issues essays describe how humans influence the study of ecology. For example, the short essay €The Ecology of Antibiotic Resistance€ discusses how antibiotic resistance is a result of natural selection. Each essay is followed by a set of critical thinking questions.

The Companion Website is integrated with the text and includes the interactive quantitative tools GRAPHit! and QUANTIFYit! as well as animations, quiz questions, flashcards, news and web links, Ecological Perspectives essays, and more. A subscription to the Companion Website is included with each new copy of the text.

Engaging introductions give students a €big picture€ overview of the coming chapters in each of the eight parts of the book, so they can understand how various topics interrelate.

Revised study questions include more critical thinking exercises that engage students to make connections and apply their knowledge.

Landscape Ecology chapter explores the role of disturbance in ecosystems.

Known for its emphasis on the relevance of ecology in everyday life and the human impact on ecosystems, Elements of Ecology, Seventh Edition features new €Interpreting Ecological Data€ exercises to help students develop quantitative skills.

Each chapter draws upon current research in the various fields of ecology while providing accessible examples that help students understand species natural history, specific ecosystems, the process of science, and ecological patterns at both an evolutionary and demographic scale.

To engage students in using and interpreting data, a wide variety of Quantifying Ecology boxes walk through step-by-step examples of equations and statistical techniques. The expanded Companion Website includes exercises to help students further master and apply math skills.

Contents

1. The Nature of Ecology

I. THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
2. Climate
3. The Aquatic Environment
4. The Terrestrial Environment

II. THE ORGANISM AND ITS ENVIRONMENT
5. Adaptation and Natural Selection
6. Plant Adaptations to the Environment
7. Animal Adaptations to the Environment
8. Life History Patterns

III. POPULATIONS
9. Properties of Populations
10. Population Growth
11. Intraspecific Population Regulation
12. Metapopulations

IV. SPECIES INTERACTIONS
13. Interspecific Competition
14. Predation
15. Parasitism and Mutualism

V. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
16. Community Structure
17. Factors Influencing the Structure of Communities
18. Community Dynamics
19. Landscape Ecology

VI. ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY
20. Ecosystem Energetics
21. Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling
22. Biogeochemical Cycles

VII. BIOGEOGRAPHICAL ECOLOGY
23. Terrestrial Ecosystems
24. Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems
25. Land-Water Margins
26. Large-scale Patterns of Biological Diversity

VIII. HUMAN ECOLOGY
27. Population Growth, Resource Use, and Sustainability
28. Habitat Loss, Biodiversity, and Conservation
29. Global Climate Change