A New Ecology: Systems Perspective

A New Ecology:  Systems Perspective
Copyright
Dedication
Preface to the Second Edition
1 - Introduction: A New Ecology Is Needed
	1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT HAS CHANGED
	1.2 ECOLOGY IS CHANGING
	1.3 A NEW ECOLOGY
	1.4 BOOK OUTLINE
2 - Ecosystems Have Thermodynamic Openness
	2.1 WHY MUST ECOSYSTEMS BE OPEN?
	2.2 AN ISOLATED SYSTEM WOULD DIE (MAXIMUM ENTROPY)
	2.3 PHYSICAL OPENNESS
	2.4 THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS INTERPRETED FOR OPEN SYSTEMS
	2.5 DISSIPATIVE STRUCTURE
	2.6 QUANTIFICATION OF OPENNESS AND ALLOMETRIC PRINCIPLES
	2.7 THE CELL
	2.8 WHAT ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT?
	2.9 CONCLUSION
3 - Ecosystems Have Ontic Openness
	3.1 INTRODUCTION
	3.2 WHY IS ONTIC OPENNESS SO OBSCURE?
		Most Ecologists Have Experienced Ontic Openness Already!
		Examples from the World of Music
	3.3 ONTIC OPENNESS AND THE PHYSICAL WORLD
		It Is Not Possible to Measure Everything
			The Heisenberg Principle
			The Compton Effect
			Spin Relaxation
	3.4 WHAT REALLY DIFFERS BETWEEN PHYSICS AND BIOLOGY: FOUR PRINCIPLES OF ELSASSER
		Background
			Ordered Heterogeneity
			Creative Selection
			Holistic Memory
			Operative Symbolism
		Ecology and Heisenberg
	3.5 ONTIC OPENNESS AND RELATIVE STABILITY
	3.6 THE MACROSCOPIC OPENNESS—CONNECTIONS TO THERMODYNAMICS
		The Entropy Paradox
		The Probability Paradox
	3.7 ONTIC OPENNESS AND EMERGENCE
	3.8 ONTIC OPENNESS AND HIERARCHIES
	3.9 MESSAGES FROM ONTIC OPENNESS TO ECOLOGY AND ECOLOGISTS/MANAGERS
		Variation
		Uncertainty
		Indeterminacy
		Nondirectionality
		Voidness
		Patterns and Constraints
		Hierarchy and Causality
		Ontic Openness Stresses the Precautionary Principle
	3.10 CONSEQUENCES OF ONTIC OPENNESS: A TENTATIVE CONCLUSION
		Immense Numbers Are Easily Reached
		Possible Development and Uncertainty
		The Uniqueness of Ecosystems
		Agency of Ecosystems
		Uniqueness as Emergence
		The Messages of Ontic Openness to Ecology
4 - Ecosystems Have Connectivity
	4.1 INTRODUCTION
	4.2 ECOSYSTEMS AS NETWORKS
	4.3 FOOD WEBS
	4.4 SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
	4.5 ECOSYSTEM CONNECTIVITY AND ECOLOGICAL NETWORK ANALYSIS
	4.6 NETWORK ENVIRON ANALYSIS PRIMER
		Network Example 1—Aggradation
		Network Example 2—Cone Spring Ecosystem
	4.7 THE CARDINAL HYPOTHESES OF NETWORK ENVIRON ANALYSIS
		Grounding Hypotheses
			CH-1: Network Pathway Proliferation
			CH-2: Network Nonlocality
		Growth and Development Hypotheses
			CH-3: Network Homogenization
			CH-4: Network Aggradation
			CH-5: Network Throughflow Maximization
			CH-6: Network Storage Maximization
		Amplification Hypotheses
			CH-7: Network Boundary Amplification
			CH-8: Network Interior Amplification
		Integrative Hypotheses
			CH-9: Network Enfolding
			CH-10: Network Unfolding
			CH-11: Network Centrifugality and Centripetality
			CH-12: Network Topogenesis
		Relational Hypotheses
			CH-13: Network Synergism
			CH-14: Network Interaction Typing
			CH-15: Network Mutualism
			CH-16: Network Janus Enigma Hypothesis
		Autonomy and Self-Organization Hypotheses
			CH-17: Network Clockwork Stockworks
			CH-18: Network Environ Autonomy
		Holism Hypotheses
			CH-19: Network Distributed Control
			CH-20: Network Ecogenetic Coevolution
	4.8 CONCLUSIONS
5 - Ecosystems as Self-organizing Hierarchies
	5.1 HISTORY OF HIERARCHY CONCEPTS IN ECOLOGY
	5.2 HIERARCHIES INHERENT IN BIOLOGY
	5.3 CLASSICAL HIERARCHIES IN TIME AND SPACE
	5.4 HIERARCHICAL FEATURES: BOUNDARIES, GRADIENTS, AND CONSTRAINTS
		Boundary Issues
		Thermodynamic Gradients
		Constraint
		Emergence
	5.5 UNDERSTANDING HIERARCHICAL FUNCTION
		Hierarchical Interpretations Above the Organism level
			Population—Community Level
			Ecosystems—Patches and Mosaics
			Landscapes Sensu Lato
			Regional Scales
	5.6 MANAGING ECOSYSTEMS AS HIERARCHIES
6 - Ecosystems Have Directionality
	6.1 SINCE THE BEGINNINGS OF ECOLOGY
	6.2 THE CHALLENGE FROM THERMODYNAMICS
	6.3 DECONSTRUCTING DIRECTIONALITY?
	6.4 AGENCIES IMPARTING DIRECTIONALITY
	6.5 ORIGINS OF EVOLUTIONARY DRIVE
	6.6 QUANTIFYING DIRECTIONALITY IN ECOSYSTEMS
	6.7 DEMYSTIFYING DARWIN
	6.8 DIRECTIONALITY IN EVOLUTION?
	6.9 SUMMARY
7 - Ecosystems Have Complex Dynamics—Growth and Development
	PREAMBLE
	7.1 VARIABILITY IN LIFE CONDITIONS
	7.2 ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
	7.3 ORIENTORS AND SUCCESSION THEORIES
	7.4 THE MAXIMUM POWER PRINCIPLE
	7.5 EXERGY, ASCENDENCY, GRADIENTS, AND ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
	7.6 SUPPORT FOR THE PRESENTED HYPOTHESES
		Genome Size
		Le Chatelier's Principle
		The Sequence of Organic Matter Oxidation
		Formation of Organic Matter in the Primeval Atmosphere
		Photosynthesis
		Leaf Size
		Biomass Packing
		Cycling
		Structurally Dynamic Modeling
		Seasonal Changes
	7.7 TOWARD A CONSISTENT ECOSYSTEM THEORY
	7.8 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
8 - Ecosystems Have Complex Dynamics—Disturbance and Decay
	8.1 THE NORMALITY OF DISTURBANCE
	8.2 THE RISK OF ORIENTOR OPTIMIZATION
	8.3 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTURBANCE
	8.4 ADAPTABILITY AS A KEY FUNCTION OF ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS
	8.5 ADAPTIVE CYCLES ON MULTIPLE SCALES
	8.6 A CASE STUDY: HUMAN DISTURBANCE AND RETROGRESSIVE DYNAMICS
	8.7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
9 - Ecosystem Principles Have Broad Explanatory Power in Ecology
	9.1 INTRODUCTION
	9.2 DO ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES ENCOMPASS OTHER PROPOSED ECOLOGICAL THEORIES?
		Evolutionary Theory
			Examples
				Example 1: Industrial Melanism in the Peppered Moth
				Example 2: Warning Coloration and Mimicry
				Example 3: Darwin's Finches
				Example 4: The Role of Size in Horses' Lineage
	9.3 EVOLUTIONARY THEORY IN THE LIGHT OF ECOSYSTEM PRINCIPLES
		Island Biogeography
		Example
			Krakatau Island
			Island Biogeography Theory in the Light of Ecosystem Principles
		Latitudinal Gradients in Biodiversity
			Examples
				Example 1: Latitudinal Distribution of Hyperiid Amphipods Diversity in the Atlantic Ocean
				Example 2: Latitudinal Trends in Vertebrate Diversity (http://www.meer.org/chap3.htm)
				Example 3: Trends within Plant Communities and Across Latitude
				Example 4: Trends within Marine Epifaunal Invertebrate Communities
	9.4 LATITUDINAL GRADIENTS IN BIODIVERSITY IN THE LIGHT OF ECOSYSTEM PRINCIPLES
		Keystone Species Hypothesis
			Examples
				Example 1—Sea Stars' Predation on Mussels
				Example 2—Sea Otters' Predation on Sea Urchins
				Example 3—Gray Wolves' Predation on Elks
				Example 4—Elephants in Savannas
	9.5 THE KEYSTONE SPECIES HYPOTHESIS IN THE LIGHT OF ECOSYSTEM PRINCIPLES
		Optimal Foraging Theory
			Examples
				Example 1: Rufous Hummingbirds
				Example 2: Optimal Clam Selection by Predator Crows in North-Western Pacific
			The Optimal Foraging Theory in the Light of Ecosystem Principles
		Niche Theory
			Example 1 of the Competitive Exclusion Principle or Gause's Principle: two species of Paramecium
			Example 2 of the Competitive Exclusion Principle or Gause's Principle: Geospiza spp.
			Example 3 of the Competitive Exclusion Principle or Gause's Principle: Squirrels in England (www.saburchill.com/IBbiology/c ...
			The Niche Theory in the Light of Ecosystem Principles
	9.6 LIEBIG'S LAW OF THE MINIMUM
		The Liebig's Law of the Minimum in the Light of Ecosystem Principles
		Biomass Storage
		The River Continuum Concept
	9.7 THE RIVER CONTINUUM THEORY IN THE LIGHT OF ECOSYSTEM PRINCIPLES
		Hysteresis in Nature
	9.8 CONCLUSIONS
10 - Ecosystem Principles Have Ecological Applications
	10.1 INTRODUCTION
	10.2 ENTROPY PRODUCTION AS AN INDICATOR OF ECOSYSTEM TROPHIC STATE
		Case Studies
		Entropy production Indices for Waterbodies
		Conclusions
	10.3 THE USE OF ECOLOGICAL NETWORK ANALYSIS FOR THE SIMULATION OF THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN AMERICAN BLACK BEAR AND ITS ENVIRONMENT
		Conclusion
	10.4 APPLICATIONS OF NETWORK ANALYSIS AND ASCENDENCY TO SOUTH FLORIDA ECOSYSTEMS
		Case Studies
		The Network Models of the Ecosystems
		Ascendency, Redundancy, and Development Capacity
		Conclusions
	10.5 THE APPLICATION OF ECO-EXERGY AS ECOLOGICAL INDICATOR FOR ASSESSMENT OF ECOSYSTEM HEALTH
		Conclusions
	10.6 EMERGY AS ECOLOGICAL INDICATOR TO ASSESS ECOSYSTEM HEALTH
		Conclusions
	10.7 THE ECO-EXERGY TO EMPOWER RATIO AND THE EFFICIENCY OF ECOSYSTEMS
		The Case Studies
		Emergy, Exergy and Their Joint Use
		Conclusions
	10.8 APPLICATION OF ECO-EXERGY AND ASCENDENCY AS ECOLOGICAL INDICATOR TO THE MONDEGO ESTUARY (PORTUGAL)
		Maximization of Eco-exergy to Predict the Behavior of the System
		Eco-exergy, Specific Eco-exergy, and Diversity
		Ascendency Calculations
	10.9 CONCLUSIONS
11 - Ecosystems Carry Important Messages to Managers and Policy Makers
	11.1 ECOSYSTEMS IN A SUSTAINABILITY PERSPECTIVE
	11.2 MANAGEMENT WITH NATURE
		Using Ecosystem Knowledge to Improve Management
		Engineering the Natural Way—Aquatics
		Engineering the Natural Way—Terrestrial
	11.3 INDICATING MANAGEMENT SUCCESS
		A Framework for Sustainability Assessment—Cubes
		A Framework for Sustainability Assessment—Trigon
			Using EST in Building Management Scenarios toward Ecological Sustainability
			What Might Be the Advantages of Using the Ecological Sustainability Trigon?
		Exergy and Carbon Budgets to Evaluate Sustainability
			Unifying Matter and Energy
			Deconstruction of Society for Analysis
			Indicating a Sustainability State
	11.4 CONCLUSIONS
12 - Conclusions and Final Remarks
	12.1 ARE FUNDAMENTAL ECOLOGICAL PROPERTIES NEEDED TO EXPLAIN OUR OBSERVATIONS?
	12.2 PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO PRESENT AN ECOSYSTEM THEORY
	12.3 RECAPITULATION OF THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ECOSYSTEM THEORY
	12.4 ARE THERE BASIC ECOSYSTEM PRINCIPLES?
	12.5 CONCLUSION
References
Index
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