Essentials of Ecology

Front Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Brief Contents......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
Learning Skills......Page 26
CORE CASE STUDY: Living in an Exponential Age......Page 30
1-1 What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society?......Page 31
1-2 How Can Environmentally Sustainable Societies Grow Economically?......Page 35
1-3 How Are Our Ecological Footprints Affecting the Earth?......Page 37
CASE STUDY: China\'s New Affluent Consumers......Page 40
1-4 What Is Pollution, and What Can We Do about It?......Page 41
1-5 Why Do We Have Environmental Problems?......Page 42
CASE STUDY: The Environmental Transformation of Chattanooga, Tennessee......Page 46
INDIVIDUALS MATTER: Aldo Leopold\'s Environmental Ethics......Page 47
1-6 What Are Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability?......Page 48
REVISITING: Exponential Growth and Sustainability......Page 49
CORE CASE STUDY: Carrying Out a Controlled Scientific Experiment......Page 53
2-1 What is Science?......Page 54
SCIENCE FOCUS: Easter Island: Some Revisions to a Popular Environmental Story......Page 56
SCIENCE FOCUS: The Scientific Consensus over Global Warming......Page 58
SCIENCE FOCUS: Statistics and Probability......Page 59
2-2 What Is Matter?......Page 60
2-3 How Can Matter Change?......Page 64
2-4 What Is Energy and How Can It Be Changed?......Page 65
SCIENCE FOCUS: The Usefulness of Models......Page 69
REVISITING: The Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest and Sustainability......Page 72
CORE CASE STUDY: Tropical Rain Forests Are Disappearing......Page 75
3-1 What Is Ecology?......Page 76
3-2 What Keeps Us and Other Organisms Alive?......Page 79
3-3 What Are the Major Components of an Ecosystem?......Page 82
3-4 What Happens to Energy in an Ecosystem?......Page 86
3-5 What Happens to Matter in an Ecosystem?......Page 90
SCIENCE FOCUS: Water\'s Unique Properties......Page 92
3-6 How Do Scientists Study Ecosystems?......Page 97
REVISITING: Tropical Rain Forests and Sustainability......Page 99
CORE CASE STUDY: Why Should We Care about the American Alligator?......Page 102
4-1 What Is Biodiversity and Why Is It Important?......Page 103
4-2 Where Do Species Come From?......Page 105
CASE STUDY: How Did Humans Become Such a Powerful Species?......Page 108
4-3 How Do Geological Processes and Climate Change Affect Evolution?......Page 109
4-4 How Do Speciation, Extinction, and Human Activities Affect Biodiversity?......Page 111
SCIENCE FOCUS: We Have Developed Two Ways to Change the Genetic Traits of Populations......Page 113
4-5 What Is Species Diversity and Why Is It Important?......Page 114
SCIENCE FOCUS: Species Richness on Islands......Page 115
4-6 What Roles Do Species Play in Ecosystems?......Page 116
CASE STUDY: Cockroaches: Nature\'s Ultimate Survivors......Page 117
CASE STUDY: Why Are Amphibians Vanishing?......Page 118
CASE STUDY: Why Should We Protect Sharks?......Page 121
REVISITING: The American Alligator and Sustainability......Page 122
CORE CASE STUDY: Southern Sea Otters: Are They Back from the Brink of Extinction?......Page 125
5-1 How Do Species Interact?......Page 126
SCIENCE FOCUS: Why Should We Care About Kelp Forests?......Page 129
5-2 How Can Natural Selection Reduce Competition between Species?......Page 132
5-3 What Limits the Growth of Populations?......Page 133
SCIENCE FOCUS: Why Are Protected Sea Otters Making a Slow Comeback?......Page 135
CASE STUDY: Exploding White-Tailed Deer Populations in the United States......Page 139
5-4 How Do Communities and Ecosystems Respond to Changing Environmental Conditions?......Page 140
SCIENCE FOCUS: How Do Species Replace One Another in Ecological Succession?......Page 143
REVISITING: Southern Sea Otters and Sustainability......Page 144
CORE CASE STUDY: Are There Too Many of Us?......Page 147
6-1 How Many People Can the Earth Support?......Page 148
SCIENCE FOCUS: How Long Can the Human Population Keep Growing?......Page 149
6-2 What Factors Influence the Size of the Human Population?......Page 150
CASE STUDY: The U.S. Population Is Growing Rapidly......Page 151
CASE STUDY: The United States: A Nation of Immigrants......Page 154
6-3 How Does a Population\'s Age Structure Affect Its Growth or Decline?......Page 155
6-4 How Can We Slow Human Population Growth?......Page 158
CASE STUDY: Slowing Population Growth in China: The One-Child Policy......Page 160
CASE STUDY: Slowing Population Growth in India......Page 161
REVISITING: Population Growth and Sustainability......Page 162
CORE CASE STUDY: Blowing in the Wind: Connections Between Wind, Climate, and Biomes......Page 165
7-1 What Factors Influence Climate?......Page 166
7-2 How Does Climate Affect the Nature and Locations of Biomes?......Page 170
SCIENCE FOCUS: Staying Alive in the Desert......Page 173
7-3 How Have We Affected the World\'s Terrestrial Ecosystems?......Page 183
REVISITING: Winds and Sustainability......Page 184
CORE CASE STUDY: Why Should We Care about Coral Reefs?......Page 187
8-1 What Is the General Nature of Aquatic Systems?......Page 188
8-2 Why Are Marine Aquatic Systems Important?......Page 190
8-3 How Have Human Activities Affected Marine Ecosystems?......Page 196
CASE STUDY: The Chesapeake Bay—An Estuary in Trouble......Page 197
8-4 Why Are Freshwater Ecosystems Important?......Page 199
CASE STUDY: Dams, Deltas, Wetlands, Hurricanes, and New Orleans......Page 202
CASE STUDY: Inland Wetland Losses in the United States......Page 204
REVISITING Coral Reefs and Sustainability......Page 205
CORE CASE STUDY: The Passenger Pigeon: Gone Forever......Page 208
9-1 What Role Do Humans Play in the Premature Extinction of Species?......Page 209
SCIENCE FOCUS: Estimating Extinction Rates Is Not Easy......Page 213
9-2 Why Should We Care about Preventing Premature Species Extinction?......Page 214
SCIENCE FOCUS: Using DNA to Reduce Illegal Killing of Elephants for Their Ivory......Page 216
SCIENCE FOCUS: Why Should We Care about Bats?......Page 217
9-3 How Do Humans Accelerate Species Extinction?......Page 218
CASE STUDY: A Disturbing Message from the Birds......Page 220
SCIENCE FOCUS Vultures, Wild Dogs, and Rabies: Some Unexpected Scientific Connections......Page 222
CASE STUDY: The Kudzu Vine......Page 223
CASE STUDY: Where Have All the Honeybees Gone?......Page 227
CASE STUDY: Polar Bears and Global Warming......Page 228
INDIVIDUALS MATTER: Jane Goodall......Page 230
9-4 How Can We Protect Wild Species from Extinction Resulting from our Activities?......Page 231
CASE STUDY: The U.S. Endangered Species Act......Page 232
SCIENCE FOCUS: Accomplishments of the Endangered Species Act......Page 234
CASE STUDY: Trying to Save the California Condor......Page 235
REVISITING: Passenger Pigeons and Sustainability......Page 236
CORE CASE STUDY: Reintroducing Gray Wolves to Yellowstone......Page 239
10-1 What Are the Major Threats to Forest Ecosystems?......Page 240
SCIENCE FOCUS: Putting a Price Tag on Nature\'s Ecological Services......Page 243
CASE STUDY: Many Cleared Forests in the United States Have Grown Back......Page 248
10-2 How Should We Manage and Sustain Forests?......Page 252
SCIENCE FOCUS: Certifying Sustainably Grown Timber......Page 253
CASE STUDY: Deforestation and the Fuelwood Crisis......Page 254
INDIVIDUALS MATTER: Wangari Maathai and Kenya\'s Green Belt Movement......Page 255
10-3 How Should We Manage and Sustain Grasslands?......Page 256
CASE STUDY: Grazing and Urban Development in the American West—Cows or Condos?......Page 258
CASE STUDY: Stresses on U.S. Public Parks......Page 259
SCIENCE FOCUS: Effects of Reintroducing the Gray Wolf to Yellowstone National Park......Page 260
CASE STUDY: Costa Rica—A Global Conservation Leader......Page 262
CASE STUDY: Controversy over Wilderness Protection in the United States......Page 263
10-5 What Is the Ecosystem Approach to Sustaining Biodiversity?......Page 264
CASE STUDY: A Biodiversity Hotspot in East Africa......Page 265
SCIENCE FOCUS: Ecological Restoration of a Tropical Dry Forest in Costa Rica......Page 267
CASE STUDY: The Blackfoot Challenge—Reconciliation Ecology in Action......Page 269
REVISITING: Yellowstone Wolves and Sustainability......Page 270
CORE CASE STUDY: A Biological Roller Coaster Ride in Lake Victoria......Page 274
11-1 What Are the Major Threats to Aquatic Biodiversity?......Page 275
SCIENCE FOCUS: How Carp Have Muddied Some Waters......Page 278
SCIENCE FOCUS: Sustaining Ecosystem Services by Protecting and Restoring Mangroves......Page 280
CASE STUDY: Industrial Fish Harvesting Methods......Page 281
CASE STUDY: Protecting Whales: A Success Story . . . So Far......Page 282
CASE STUDY: Holding Out Hope for Marine Turtles......Page 284
INDIVIDUALS MATTER: Creating an Artificial Coral Reef in Israel......Page 286
11-3 How Should We Manage and Sustain Marine Fisheries?......Page 288
11-4 How Should We Protect and Sustain Wetlands?......Page 290
INDIVIDUALS MATTER: Restoring a Wetland......Page 291
CASE STUDY: Can We Restore the Florida Everglades?......Page 292
CASE STUDY: Can the Great Lakes Survive Repeated Invasions by Alien Species?......Page 294
11-6 What Should Be Our Priorities for Sustaining Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services?......Page 296
REVISITING: Lake Victoria and Sustainability......Page 297
SUPPLEMENTS......Page 300
1 Measurement Units, Precision, and Accuracy Chapter 2......Page 301
2 Reading Graphs and Maps All chapters......Page 303
3 Economic, Population, Hunger, Health, and Waste Production Data and Maps Chapters 1, 6......Page 309
4 Biodiversity, Ecological Footprints, and Environmental Performance Maps Chapters 1, 3–10......Page 319
5 Environmental History Chapters 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10......Page 330
6 Some Basic Chemistry Chapters 1–5......Page 338
7 Classifying and Naming Species Chapters 3, 4, 8......Page 345
8 Weather Basics: El Niño, Tornadoes, and Tropical Cyclones  Chapters 4, 7, 11......Page 346
9 Components and Interactions in Major Biomes Chapters 8, 9, 10......Page 352
10 Chapter Projects Chapters 3–11......Page 358
11 Key Concepts By Chapter......Page 360
Glossary......Page 364
Index......Page 376