Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Metabolism provides a basis for using first principles of physics, chemistry, and biology to link the biology of individual organisms to the ecology of populations, communities, and ecosystems. Metabolic rate, the rate at which organisms take up, transform, and expend energy and materials, is the most fundamental biological rate. We have developed a quantitative theory for how metabolic rate varies with body size and temperature. Metabolic theory predicts how metabolic rate, by setting the rates of resource uptake from the environment and resource allocation to survival, growth, and reproduction, controls ecological processes at all levels of organization from individuals to the biosphere. Examples include: (1) life history attributes, including devel- opment rate, mortality rate, age at maturity, life span, and population growth rate; (2) population interactions, including carrying capacity, rates of competition and predation, and patterns of species diversity; and (3) ecosystem processes, including rates of biomass production and respiration and patterns of trophic dynamics. Data compiled from the ecological literature strongly support the theoretical predictions. Even- tually, metabolic theory may provide a conceptual foundation for much of ecology, just as genetic theory provides a foundation for much of evolutionary biology.

/pdf/toward-a-metabolic-theory-of-ecology-1dxmg8xr3n.pdf

Toward a metabolic theory of ecology

When a person looks at an object while exploring it with their hand, vision and touch both provide information for estimating the properties of the object. Vision frequently dominates the integrated visual-haptic percept, for example when judging size, shape or position, but in some circumstances the percept is clearly affected by haptics. Here we propose that a general principle, which minimizes variance in the final estimate, determines the degree to which vision or haptics dominates. This principle is realized by using maximum-likelihood estimation to combine the inputs. To investigate cue combination quantitatively, we first measured the variances associated with visual and haptic estimation of height. We then used these measurements to construct a maximum-likelihood integrator. This model behaved very similarly to humans in a visual-haptic task. Thus, the nervous system seems to combine visual and haptic information in a fashion that is similar to a maximum-likelihood integrator. Visual dominance occurs when the variance associated with visual estimation is lower than that associated with haptic estimation.

Humans integrate visual and haptic information in a statistically optimal fashion.

One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastics. Within just a few decades since mass production of plastic...

/pdf/accumulation-and-fragmentation-of-plastic-debris-in-global-2ayi1pcd8z.pdf

Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments.

ilbstract. Autocorrelation is a very general statistical property of ecological variables observed across geographic space; its most common forms are patches and gradients. Spatial autocorrelation. which comes either from the physical forcing of environmental variables or from community processes, presents a problem for statistical testing because autocorrelated data violate the assumption of independence of most standard statistical procedures. The paper discusses first how autocorrelation in ecological variables can be described and measured. with emphasis on mapping techniques. Then. proper statistical testing in the presence of autocorrelation is briefly discussed. Finally. ways are presented of explicitly introducing spatial structures into ecological models. Two approaches are proposed: in the raw-data approach, the spatial structure takes the form of a polynomial of the x and .v geographic coordinates of the sampling stations; in the matrix approach. the spatial structure is introduced in the form of a geographic distance matrix among locations. These two approaches are compared in the concluding section. A table provides a list of computer programs available for spatial analysis.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1939924.pdf

Spatial Autocorrelation: Trouble or New Paradigm?

The Dynamic Abyss

Introduction 1. Ecological Principles (with marine examples) 2. Central Issues in Biological Oceanography 3. Intersections of biological oceanography with other disciplines

Concepts in Biological Oceanography: An Interdisciplinary Primer

A flume study was undertaken to determine the source of the large variability in field estimates of γ, the coefficient of proportionality between excess shear stress and concentration of suspended sediment at a reference height above the bed. Accuracy in predicting suspended sediment concentration and particle flux demands accurate knowledge of this coefficient. To avoid error due to incorrect assumptions concerning the eddy diffusion coefficient for mass, reference concentration was estimated from concentration profiles. A linear relationship was found adequate to describe the dependence of reference concentration on excess boundary shear stress. The value of γ was determined to be 1.3×10−4. Values for the coefficient range between only 0.8×10−4 and 4.9×10−4 at the 95% confidence level. We show that the variability in previous field-derived estimates of γ over 4 orders of magnitude is not attributable to unsound theory relating reference concentration to excess shear stress, but is most likely due to improper treatment of the eddy diffusion coefficient for mass and to measurement error.

Flume evaluation of the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and excess boundary shear stress

A generic revision of the Dorvilleidae (Polychaeta), with six new species from the deep North Pacific

Microbial viability and growth in animal guts are dependent upon conditions influenced by both the physiological activities of the animal and the activities of the microbes themselves. To examine the relative contribution of these influences, the guts of Molpadia intermedia (a subtidal holothuroid) and a variety of other marine deposit feeders from diverse habitats were probed with mini- or microelectrodes to measure oxygen, Eh, and pH. In general, bulk oxygen and pH conditions of the gut mimicked those of ambient sediments, revealing nearly neutral pH and zero oxygen in sub- and intertidal animals, with more oxygen in bathyal animals ingesting oxygenated sediments. Eh in guts of subsurface deposit feeders that likely subduct and aerate sediments before ingestion did not mimic sediments. Axial Eh profiles, in contrast to those of pH and oxygen, revealed significant changes along the gut. In most deposit feeders, values decreased from mouth to midgut, suggesting high rates of microbial metabolism within the gut. Increases in Eh were observed in the most distal portion of guts, however, likely due to anal intake of aerated water, and throughout the guts of terebellid polychaetes that feed on highly reducing sediments. This addition of a strong oxidant by the animal may be necessary to avoid sulfide poisoning and may provide access to organic products by stimulating chemoautotrophy. Radial profiles of the gut revealed sharp gradients of Eh and oxygen. In general, steep redox gradients stimulate bacterial metabolism and may lead to exceptionally high respiratory rates. Radial diffusion calculations made using oxygen profiles surrounding the gut reveal that, as predicted by digestion theory, oxygen consumption rates are rapid and are higher in the hindgut, where the digestive products of the animal are available to microbes, than in the foregut.

Peter A. Jumars

Papers

The Dynamic Abyss

Concepts in Biological Oceanography: An Interdisciplinary Primer

Flume evaluation of the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and excess boundary shear stress

A generic revision of the Dorvilleidae (Polychaeta), with six new species from the deep North Pacific

The microbial environment of marine deposit-feeder guts characterized via microelectrodes.