9781405111171

Begon, Townsend, and Harper's Ecology has long been regarded as the definitive textbook on all aspects of ecology. This new edition provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject, from the first principles of ecology to the current state of the field, and aims to improve students' preparedness to address the environmental problems of the new millennium. Thoroughly revised and updated, this fourth edition includes: three new chapters on applied ecology, reflecting a rigorous, scientific approach to the ecological problems now facing mankind discussion of over 800 new studies, updating the text throughout an updated, user-friendly design with margin notes and chapter summaries that serve as study aids dedicated website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/begon The resulting textbook is easy to use, lucid and up-to-date, and is the essential reference for all students whose degree program includes ecology and for practicing ecologists.

Born in London in 1951 and a student at the University of Leeds, Mike Begon has spent his whole scientific career at the University of Liverpool, where he is now Professor of Ecology, specializing in the population and community ecology of infectious diseases in wildlife.

Colin Townsend obtained his DPhil at the University of Sussex before taking up teaching positions at Oxford University and the University of East Anglia. In 1989 he moved from the UK to New Zealand to the University of Otago where he was chair of the Zoology Department, and is now Director of the Ecology, Conservation and Biodiversity Research Group. He was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1997.

John Harper is an award-winning biologist and a leading figure in plant population biology. He has served as a council member of the fellowship of the Royal Society and received the Darwin Award in 1990. He is also the author of Population Biology of Plants and co-author of Essentials of Ecology.

Preface

vii

Introduction: Ecology and its Domain

xi

Part 1: Organisms

Organisms in their Environments: the Evolutionary Backdrop

3

(27)

Conditions

30

(28)

Resources

58

(31)

Life, Death and Life Histories

89

(43)

Intraspecific Competition

132

(31)

Dispersal, Dormancy and Metapopulations

163

(23)

Ecological Applications at the Level of Organisms and Single-Species Populations: Restoration, Biosecurity and Conservation

186

(41)

Part 2: Species Interactions

Interspecific Competition

227

(39)

The Nature of Predation

266

(31)

The Population Dynamics of Predation

297

(29)

Decomposers and Detritivores

326

(21)

Parasitism and Disease

347

(34)

Symbiosis and Mutualism

381

(29)

Abundance

410

(29)

Ecological Applications at the Level of Population Interactions: Pest Control and Harvest Management

439

(30)

Part 3: Communities and Ecosystems

The Nature of the Community: Patterns in Space and Time

469

(30)

The Flux of Energy through Ecosystems

499

(26)

The Flux of Matter through Ecosystems

525

(25)

The Influence of Population Interactions on Community Structure

550

(28)

Food Webs

578

(24)

Patterns in Species Richness

602

(31)

Ecological Applications at the Level of Communities and Ecosystems: Management Based on the Theory of Succession, Food Webs, Ecosystem Functioning and Biodiversity

633

(26)

References

659

(42)

Organism Index

701

(13)

Subject Index

714

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Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems, 4th Edition

Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems, 4th Edition

1405111178

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials