The Ecology Book

CONTENTS......Page 8
INTRODUCTION......Page 14
THE STORY OF EVOLUTION......Page 18
Time is insignificant and never a difficulty for nature Early theories of evolution......Page 22
A world previous to ours, destroyed by catastrophe Extinction and change......Page 24
No vestige of a beginning —no prospect of an end Uniformitarianism......Page 25
The struggle for existence Evolution by natural selection......Page 26
Human beings are ultimately nothing but carriers for genes The rules of heredity......Page 34
We’ve discovered the secret of life The role of DNA......Page 36
Genes are selfish molecules The selfish gene......Page 40
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES......Page 42
Lessons from mathematical theory on the struggle for life Predator–prey equations......Page 46
Existence is determined by a slender thread of circumstances Ecological niches......Page 52
Complete competitors cannot coexist Competitive exclusion principle......Page 54
Poor field experiments can be worse than useless Field experiments......Page 56
More nectar means more ants and more ants mean more nectar Mutualisms......Page 58
Whelks are like little wolves in slow motion Keystone species......Page 62
The fitness of a foraging animal depends on its efficiency Optimal foraging theory......Page 68
Parasites and pathogens control populations like predators Ecological epidemiology......Page 70
Why don’t penguins’ feet freeze? Ecophysiology......Page 74
All life is chemical Ecological stoichiometry......Page 76
Fear itself is powerful Nonconsumptive effects of predators on their prey......Page 78
ORDERING THE NATURAL WORLD......Page 80
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous Classification of living things......Page 84
By the help of microscopes nothing escapes our inquiry The microbiological environment......Page 86
If you do not know the names of things, the knowledge of them is lost A system for identifying all nature’s organisms......Page 88
“Reproductively isolated” are the key words Biological species concept......Page 90
Organisms clearly cluster into several primary kingdoms A modern view of diversity......Page 92
Save the biosphere and you may save the world Human activity and biodiversity......Page 94
We are in the opening phase of a mass extinction Biodiversity hotspots......Page 98
THE VARIETY OF LIFE......Page 100
It is the microbes that will have the last word Microbiology......Page 104
Certain tree species have a symbiosis with fungi The ubiquity of mycorrhizae......Page 106
Food is the burning question Animal ecology......Page 108
Birds lay the number of eggs that produce the optimum number of offspring Clutch control......Page 116
The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be Animal behavior......Page 118
Redefine “tool”, redefine “man”, or accept chimpanzees as humans Using animal models to understand human behavior......Page 120
All bodily activity depends on temperature Thermoregulation in insects......Page 128
ECOSYSTEMS......Page 130
Every distinct part of nature’s works is necessary for the support of the rest The food chain......Page 134
All organisms are potential sources of food for other organisms The ecosystem......Page 136
Life is supported by a vast network of processes Energy flow through ecosystems......Page 140
The world is green Trophic cascades......Page 142
Islands are ecological systems Island biogeography......Page 146
It is the constancy of numbers that matters Ecological resilience......Page 152
Populations are subjected to unpredictable forces The neutral theory of biodiversity......Page 154
Only a community of researchers has a chance of revealing the complex whole Big ecology......Page 155
The best strategy depends on what others are doing Evolutionarily stable state......Page 156
Species maintain the functioning and stability of ecosystems Biodiversity and ecosystem function......Page 158
ORGANISMS IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT......Page 160
The philosophical study of nature connects the present with the past The distribution of species over space and time......Page 164
The virtual increase of the population is limited by the fertility of the country The Verhulst equation......Page 166
The first requisite is a thorough knowledge of the natural order Organisms and their environment......Page 168
Plants live on a different timescale The foundations of plant ecology......Page 169
The causes of differences among plants Climate and vegetation......Page 170
I have great faith in a seed Ecological succession......Page 172
The community arises, grows, matures, and dies Climax community......Page 174
An association is not an organism but a coincidence Open community theory......Page 176
A group of species that exploit their environment in a similar way The ecological guild......Page 178
The citizen network depends on volunteers Citizen science......Page 180
Population dynamics become chaotic when the rate of reproduction soars Chaotic population change......Page 186
To visualize the big picture, take a distant view Macroecology......Page 187
A population of populations Metapopulations......Page 188
Organisms change and construct the world in which they live Niche construction......Page 190
Local communities that exchange colonists Metacommunities......Page 192
THE LIVING EARTH......Page 196
The glacier was God’s great plow Ancient ice ages......Page 200
There is nothing on the map to mark the boundary line Biogeography......Page 202
Global warming isn’t a prediction. It is happening Global warming......Page 204
Living matter is the most powerful geological force The biosphere......Page 206
The system of nature Biomes......Page 208
We take nature’s services for granted because we don’t pay for them A holistic view of Earth......Page 212
Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction Moving continents and evolution......Page 214
Life changes Earth to its own purposes The Gaia hypothesis......Page 216
65 million years ago something killed half of all the life on the Earth Mass extinctions......Page 220
Burning all fuel reserves will initiate the runaway greenhouse Environmental feedback loops......Page 226
THE HUMAN FACTOR......Page 228
Environmental pollution is an incurable disease Pollution......Page 232
God cannot save these trees from fools Endangered habitats......Page 238
We are seeing the beginnings of a rapidly changing planet The Keeling Curve......Page 242
The chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life The legacy of pesticides......Page 244
A long journey from discovery to political action Acid rain......Page 250
A finite world can support only a finite population Overpopulation......Page 252
Dark skies are now blotted out Light pollution......Page 254
I am fighting for humanity Deforestation......Page 256
The hole in the ozone layer is a kind of skywriting Ozone depletion......Page 262
We needed a mandate for change Depletion of natural resources......Page 264
Bigger and bigger boats chasing smaller and fewer fish Overfishing......Page 268
The introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm Invasive species......Page 272
As temperatures increase, the delicately balanced system falls into disarray Spring creep......Page 276
One of the main threats to biodiversity is infectious diseases Amphibian viruses......Page 282
Imagine trying to build a house while someone keeps stealing your bricks Ocean acidification......Page 283
The environmental damage of urban sprawl cannot be ignored Urban sprawl......Page 284
Our oceans are turning into a plastic soup A plastic wasteland......Page 286
Water is a public trust and a human right The water crisis......Page 288
ENVIRONMENTALISM AND CONSERVATION......Page 294
The dominion of man over nature rests only on knowledge Humankind’s dominance over nature......Page 298
Nature is a great economist The peaceful coexistence of humankind and nature......Page 299
In wildness is the preservation of the world Romanticism, conservation, and ecology......Page 300
Man everywhere is a disturbing agent Human devastation of Earth......Page 301
Solar energy is both without limit and without cost Renewable energy......Page 302
The time has come for science to busy itself with the Earth itself Environmental ethics......Page 308
Think globally, act locally The Green Movement......Page 310
The consequences of today’s actions on tomorrow’s world Man and the Biosphere Programme......Page 312
Predicting a population’s size and its chances of extinction Population viability analysis......Page 314
Climate change is happening here. It is happening now Halting climate change......Page 318
The capacity to sustain the world’s population Sustainable biosphere initiative......Page 324
We are playing dice with the natural environment The economic impact of climate change......Page 326
Monocultures and monopolies are destroying the harvest of seed Seed diversity......Page 328
Natural ecosystems and their species help sustain and fulfill human life Ecosystem services......Page 330
We are living on this planet as though we have another one to go to Waste disposal......Page 332
DIRECTORY......Page 334
GLOSSARY......Page 342
INDEX......Page 346
QUOTE ATTRIBUTIONS......Page 353
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 354