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Ecology: Individuals Populations and Communities
01 Jan 1990-
TL;DR: A revised and updated edition of this textbook is presented in this paper, with a clear presentation of mathematical aspects and the material aims to be accessible to the undergraduate with little experience and also stimulating to practising ecologists.
Abstract: A revised and updated edition of this textbook. As before the study of plant and animal ecology is fully integrated and mathematical and laborotory studies are described where necessary. Examples drawn from real ecological systems ilustrate the complexity of this subject and the involvement of diverse areas: descriptive natural history, physiology, behaviour, field experimentation and mathematical modelling. The authors attempt to encourage the reader to combine all the above facets, so that a balanced view emerges. Emphasis is placed on the clear presentation of mathematical aspects and the material aims to be accessible to the undergraduate with little experience and also stimulating to practising ecologists. This new edition contains two new chapters both of which consider areas of applied ecology which are relevant to contemporary global issues. The first considers the control of abundance; on the one hand the limiting of pest and weed populations, on the other, maintaining the biological diversity of endangered species. The second considers large areas as an extension of the discussion of communities. These "ecosystems" in the newest sense of the word are an important field of study when considering some of the important environmental problems facing mankind.
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TL;DR: The role that many organisms play in the creation, modification and maintenance of habitats does not involve direct trophic interactions between species, but they are nevertheless important and common.
Abstract: Interactions between organisms are a major determinant of the distribution and abundance of species. Ecology textbooks (e.g., Ricklefs 1984, Krebs 1985, Begon et al. 1990) summarise these important interactions as intra- and interspecific competition for abiotic and biotic resources, predation, parasitism and mutualism. Conspicuously lacking from the list of key processes in most text books is the role that many organisms play in the creation, modification and maintenance of habitats. These activities do not involve direct trophic interactions between species, but they are nevertheless important and common. The ecological literature is rich in examples of habitat modification by organisms, some of which have been extensively studied (e.g. Thayer 1979, Naiman et al. 1988).
5,407 citations
TL;DR: Genetic manipulation of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria to improve their ability to improve plant growth may include cloning genes involved in both mineral and organic phosphate solubilization, followed by their expression in selected rhizobacterial strains.
2,761 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an ecological model concerning the ecological theory to be used or tested, a data model concerning collection and measurement of the data, and a statistical model concerning statistical theory and methods used.
1,774 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2002TL;DR: The FAO's latest assessment of the long-term outlook for the world's food supplies, nutrition and agriculture is presented in this paper, where the projections cover supply and demand for the major agricultural commodities and sectors, including fisheries and forestry.
Abstract: This report is FAO's latest assessment of the long-term outlook for the world's food supplies, nutrition and agriculture. It presents the projections and the main messages. The projections cover supply and demand for the major agricultural commodities and sectors, including fisheries and forestry. This analysis forms the basis for a more detailed examination of other factors, such as nutrition and undernourishment, and the implications for international trade. The report also investigates the implications of future supply and demand for the natural resource base and discusses how technology can contribute to more sustainable development.
One of the report's main findings is that, if no corrective action is taken, the target set by the World Food Summit in 1996 (that of halving the number of undernourished people by 2015) is not going to be met. Nothing short of a massive effort at improving the overall development performance will free the developing world of its most pressing food insecurity problems. The progress made towards this target depends on many factors, not least of which are political will and the mobilization of additional resources. Past experience underlines the crucial role of agriculture in the development process, particularly where the majority of the population still depends on this sector for employment and income.
1,643 citations
TL;DR: It is found that, in the four vertebrate classes studied, 80%-93% of the variability in species richness could be statistically explained by a monotonically increasing function of a single variable: annual potential evapotranspiration (PET).
Abstract: Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the great variation among regions in species richness. These were tested by first examining patterns of species richness of birds, mammals, amphibians,...
1,568 citations
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TL;DR: A revised and updated edition of this textbook is presented in this article, with a clear presentation of mathematical aspects and the material aims to be accessible to the undergraduate with little experience and also stimulating to practising ecologists.
Abstract: A revised and updated edition of this textbook. As before the study of plant and animal ecology is fully integrated and mathematical and laborotory studies are described where necessary. Examples drawn from real ecological systems ilustrate the complexity of this subject and the involvement of diverse areas: descriptive natural history, physiology, behaviour, field experimentation and mathematical modelling. The authors attempt to encourage the reader to combine all the above facets, so that a balanced view emerges. Emphasis is placed on the clear presentation of mathematical aspects and the material aims to be accessible to the undergraduate with little experience and also stimulating to practising ecologists. This new edition contains two new chapters both of which consider areas of applied ecology which are relevant to contemporary global issues. The first considers the control of abundance; on the one hand the limiting of pest and weed populations, on the other, maintaining the biological diversity of endangered species. The second considers large areas as an extension of the discussion of communities. These "ecosystems" in the newest sense of the word are an important field of study when considering some of the important environmental problems facing mankind.
229 citations