Download or read book Multitrophic Interactions in Terrestrial Systems written by A. C. Gange and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-08 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multitrophic interactions are now recognised as being of the utmost importance in understanding the complexity of the natural world. However, their complex nature had often been a barrier to their study as they require research teams composed of workers often with very disparate interests. This book therefore takes a multidisciplinary approach to complex interactions across many trophic levels and includes authors from disciplines as diverse as mycology, entomology, nematology, population ecology and theoretical ecology. Throughout, the direct and indirect interactions between organisms from different trophic levels are emphasised in comprehensive reviews, bringing a fresh, collaborative approach to community ecology. The book is ideal for those seeking an overview of our understanding of mulittrophic interactions as well as directions for future research.
Download or read book Multitrophic Level Interactions written by Teja Tscharntke and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-03-21 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the complex interactions between plants, their herbivores and natural enemies.
Download or read book Multitrophic Level Interactions written by Teja Tscharntke and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-03-21 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The multitrophic level approach to ecology addresses the complexity of food webs much more realistically than the traditional focus on simple systems and interactions. Only in the last few decades have ecologists become interested in the nature of more complex systems including tritrophic interactions between plants, herbivores and natural enemies. Plants may directly influence the behaviour of their herbivores' natural enemies, ecological interactions between two species are often indirectly mediated by a third species, landscape structure directly affects local tritrophic interactions and below-ground food webs are vital to above-ground organisms. The relative importance of top-down effects (control by predators) and bottom-up effects (control by resources) must also be determined. These interactions are explored in this exciting volume by expert researchers from a variety of ecological fields. This book provides a much-needed synthesis of multitrophic level interactions and serves as a guide for future research for ecologists of all descriptions.
Download or read book Agroecosystems in a Changing Climate written by Paul C.D. Newton and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2006-09-01 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroecosystems in a Changing Climate considers the consequences of changes in the atmosphere and climate on the integrity, stability, and productivity of agroecosystems. The book adopts a novel approach by bringing together theoretical contributions from ecologists and the applied interpretations of agriculturalists. Drawing these two approa
Download or read book Ecological Communities written by Takayuki Ohgushi and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-01-04 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Food webs examine the interactions between organisms to explain ecosystem community structure. This book argues how food webs alone cannot depict a true picture of a community. It shows that examining other indirect interactions between organisms can help us to better understand the structure and organisation of communities and ecosystems.
Download or read book Mycorrhizal Ecology written by Marcel G.A. van der Heijden and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-14 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This multi-authored book gives an overview of recent advances and breakthroughs in the field of mycorrhizal ecology. The text elucidates mechanisms that determine plant biodiversity - a prerequisite to ensuring successful management for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems. Topics covered include: all the major mycorrhizal types, plant population biology, multitrophic interactions, biological diversity, ecosystem functioning, global change and evolution. This volume shows that collaboration in the rhizosphere is essential for plants, microbes, plant communities and ecosystems. It has been written with ecologists in mind, giving them easy access to an understanding of how these important interactions could shape our ecosystems.
Download or read book Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology written by F Stuart Chapin III and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-04-10 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Features review questions at the end of each chapter; Includes suggestions for recommended reading; Provides a glossary of ecological terms; Has a wide audience as a textbook for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students and as a reference for practicing scientists from a wide array of disciplines
Download or read book Insects and Ecosystem Function written by W.W. Weisser and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-05 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insects are a dominant component of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems and play a key role in mediating the relationship between plants and ecosystem processes. This volume examines their effects on ecosystem functioning, focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on herbivorous insects. Renowned authors with extensive experience in the field of plant-insect interactions, contribute to the volume using examples from their own work.
Download or read book Trophic Cascades written by John Terborgh and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trophic cascades—the top-down regulation of ecosystems by predators—are an essential aspect of ecosystem function and well-being. Trophic cascades are often drastically disrupted by human interventions—for example, when wolves and cougars are removed, allowing deer and beaver to become destructive—yet have only recently begun to be considered in the development of conservation and management strategies. Trophic Cascades is the first comprehensive presentation of the science on this subject. It brings together some of the world’s leading scientists and researchers to explain the importance of large animals in regulating ecosystems, and to relate that scientific knowledge to practical conservation. Chapters examine trophic cascades across the world’s major biomes, including intertidal habitats, coastal oceans, lakes, nearshore ecosystems, open oceans, tropical forests, boreal and temperate ecosystems, low arctic scrubland, savannas, and islands. Additional chapters consider aboveground/belowground linkages, predation and ecosystem processes, consumer control by megafauna and fire, and alternative states in ecosystems. An introductory chapter offers a concise overview of trophic cascades, while concluding chapters consider theoretical perspectives and comparative issues. Trophic Cascades provides a scientific basis and justification for the idea that large predators and top-down forcing must be considered in conservation strategies, alongside factors such as habitat preservation and invasive species. It is a groundbreaking work for scientists and managers involved with biodiversity conservation and protection.
Download or read book Handbook of Functional Plant Ecology written by Francisco Pugnaire and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1999-03-10 with total page 928 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Offers the latest findings and research breakthroughs in plant ecology, as well as consideration of classic topics in environmental science and ecology. This wide-ranging compendium serves as an extremely accessible and useful resource for relative newcomers to the field as well as seasoned experts. Investigates plant structure and behavior across the ecological spectrum, from the leaf to the ecosystem levels."
Download or read book Fungi in Ecosystem Processes written by John Dighton and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2003-05-14 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Takes the Novel Approach of viewing the role of fungi from the perspective of ecosystem functions. Addressing the main processes occuring in ecosystems and showing where and how fungi are critical, this book will help readers gain a better understanding of the role of fungi in shaping ecosystems.
Download or read book Dynamic Food Webs written by Peter C de Ruiter and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2005-12-20 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dynamic Food Webs challenges us to rethink what factors may determine ecological and evolutionary pathways of food web development. It touches upon the intriguing idea that trophic interactions drive patterns and dynamics at different levels of biological organization: dynamics in species composition, dynamics in population life-history parameters and abundances, and dynamics in individual growth, size and behavior. These dynamics are shown to be strongly interrelated governing food web structure and stability and the role of populations and communities play in ecosystem functioning. Dynamic Food Webs not only offers over 100 illustrations, but also contains 8 riveting sections devoted to an understanding of how to manage the effects of environmental change, the protection of biological diversity and the sustainable use of natural resources. Dynamic Food Webs is a volume in the Theoretical Ecology series. Relates dynamics on different levels of biological organization: individuals, populations, and communities Deals with empirical and theoretical approaches Discusses the role of community food webs in ecosystem functioning Proposes methods to assess the effects of environmental change on the structure of biological communities and ecosystem functioning Offers an analyses of the relationship between complexity and stability in food webs
Download or read book Communities and Ecosystems written by David A. Wardle and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-02-15 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most of the earth's terrestrial species live in the soil. These organisms, which include many thousands of species of fungi and nematodes, shape aboveground plant and animal life as well as our climate and atmosphere. Indeed, all terrestrial ecosystems consist of interdependent aboveground and belowground compartments. Despite this, aboveground and belowground ecology have been conducted largely in isolation. This book represents the first major synthesis to focus explicitly on the connections between aboveground and belowground subsystems--and their importance for community structure and ecosystem functioning. David Wardle integrates a vast body of literature from numerous fields--including population ecology, ecosystem ecology, ecophysiology, ecological theory, soil science, and global-change biology--to explain the key conceptual issues relating to how aboveground and belowground communities affect one another and the processes that each component carries out. He then applies these concepts to a host of critical questions, including the regulation and function of biodiversity as well as the consequences of human-induced global change in the form of biological invasions, extinctions, atmospheric carbon-dioxide enrichment, nitrogen deposition, land-use change, and global warming. Through ambitious theoretical synthesis and a tremendous range of examples, Wardle shows that the key biotic drivers of community and ecosystem properties involve linkages between aboveground and belowground food webs, biotic interaction, the spatial and temporal dynamics of component organisms, and, ultimately, the ecophysiological traits of those organisms that emerge as ecological drivers. His conclusions will propel theoretical and empirical work throughout ecology.
Download or read book The Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Host Parasitoid Interactions written by Michael Hassell and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2000-06-08 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines our current understanding of the population dynamics of one kind of interaction - that between insect parasitoids and their hosts. Parasitoids are amongst the most abundant of all animals, and make up about 10% or more of metazoan species. Almost no insect species escape their attack. Host-parasitoid interactions were first modelled over fifty years ago, but for many years there was little good empirical information on the important factors that affect host and parasitoid populations. The models were very simple, and their predictions rather divorced from the complexity of what was visible in the field. Now, better data is available on many components of host-parasitoid systems, from field observations and laboratory and field experiments, and this allows a much closer correspondence between models and data. In particular, the past twenty years have seen major advances in our understanding of how host-parasitoid interactions are influenced by spatial processes, by age-structure effects, and by competition from additional host and parasitoid species. The result is a body of theory that makes direct contact with real systems in the field, and provides us with a detailed understanding of what underpins a whole area of population dynamics. In this book, Michael P Hassell pulls the theory and field data together to present an elegant illustration of the way in which ecological studies advance.
Download or read book Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning written by Michel Loreau and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasing domination of ecosystems by humans is steadily transforming them into depauperate systems. How will this loss of biodiversity affect the functioning and stability of natural and managed ecosystems? This work provides comprehensive coverage of empirical and theoretical research.
Download or read book Sustainable Approaches to Controlling Plant Pathogenic Bacteria written by V. Rajesh Kannan and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plant diseases and changes in existing pathogens remain a constant threat to our forests, food, and fiber crops as well as landscape plants. However, many economically important pathosystems are largely unexplored and biologically relevant life stages of familiar systems remain poorly understood. In a multifaceted approach to plant pathogenic behavioral control, Sustainable Approaches to Controlling Plant Pathogenic Bacteria discusses the impact of plant pathogenic bacterial pathogenesis on scientific and economic levels. It introduces mechanisms, measuring tools, and controlling strategies you can use to meet the challenge of developing new and innovative ways to control plant diseases. The book covers many aspects of the activities of pathogenic bacteria that interact with plants. With chapters contributed by experts, the book focuses on: Pathogenesis Epidemiology Forecasting systems Control measures including diagnosis, quarantine, and eradication Adoption of agro-traditional practices Tools for the control of antibacterial polypeptides Nutrient supplements Metabolic substances from other organisms Mechanisms of siderophores Host resistances Quorum sensing and quenching Seed and foliar applications Impact of plant pathogens on scientific and economic levels The editors’ approach provides a broad perspective, including modern trends in ecology that consider plant pathogenic bacterial control from all angles. The discussions and reviews in the book cover a wide range of aspects of plant pathogenic bacterial pathogenicity, epidemiology, and impact on the food chain as well as strategies for control, which will help you develop sustainable methods for controlling plant diseases.
Download or read book Towards a Semiotic Biology written by Claus Emmeche and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2011 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents programmatic texts on biosemiotics, written collectively by world leading scholars in the field (Deacon, Emmeche, Favareau, Hoffmeyer, Kull, Marko?, Pattee, Stjernfelt). In addition, the book includes chapters which focus closely on semiotic case studies (Bruni, Kotov, Maran, Neuman, Turovski). According to the central thesis of biosemiotics, sign processes characterise all living systems and the very nature of life, and their diverse phenomena can be best explained via the dynamics and typology of sign relations. The authors are therefore presenting a deeper view on biological evolution, intentionality of organisms, the role of communication in the living world and the nature of sign systems - all topics which are described in this volume. This has important consequences on the methodology and epistemology of biology and study of life phenomena in general, which the authors aim to help the reader better understand.
