Instant Notes in Ecology

Included Index

INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY. What is ecology?. Ten rules in ecology. ADAPTATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT. Adaptation. Coping with environmental variation. The niche. CLIMATE. Solar radiation and climate. Microclimate. WATER. The properties of water. Plants and water. Animals and water. TEMPERATURE. Temperature and metabolism. Responses to temperature. Temperature and species distribution. RADIATION. Solar radiation and plants. NUTRIENTS. Sources and cycles. Plants and consumers. Soil formation, properties and classification. POPULATION ECOLOGY. Populations and population structure. Natality, morality and population growth. Density and density dependence. Population dynamics - fluctuations, cycles and chaos. COMPETITION. The nature of competition. Intraspecific competition. Resource partitioning. PREDATION. The nature of predation. Predator behavior and prey response. PARASITISM. The nature of parasitism. The dynamics of parasitism. MUTUALISM. Mutualism. LIFE HISTORY PATTERNS. Life history. BEHAVIOURAL ECOLOGY. Social group, cooperation and altruism. Sex in ecology. POPULATION GENETICS. Genetic variation. Speciation. ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES. Components and processes. Primary and secondary production. Food chains. COMMUNITIES.The community, structure and stability. Island communities and colonization. Community patterns, competition and predation. COMMUNITY DYNAMICS. Succession. Community responses to disturbance. BIOMES. Ecosystem patterns. Grasslands. Tundra. Forests. Deserts, semi-deserts and shrubland. Saltwater biomes. Freshwater biomes. HARVESTING. Harvesting theory. Fishing and whaling. PEST CONTROL. The pest problem and control strategies. Pesticides and problems. Biological control and integrated pest management. CONSERVATION. Rare species, habit loss and extinction. Conservation strategies. Biological resources and gene banks. POLLUTION AND GLOBAL WARMING. Air, water and soil pollutants. Greenhouse gases and global warming. Ozone. THE ECOLOGY OF AGRICULTURE. Soil erosion and agriculture. Nutrient, water and energy use.

This volume in the "Instant Notes" series focuses on ecology. Aimed at first and second year university students, it provides a background to the subject and covers the environment, life history patterns, population genetics, parasitism, and environmental monitoring.