The Ecology Book (Big Ideas) by DK -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

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HOW TO USE THIS EBOOK INTRODUCTION THE STORY OF EVOLUTION

Time is insignificant and never a difficulty for nature • Early theories of evolution A world previous to ours, destroyed by catastrophe • Extinction and change No vestige of a beginning—no prospect of an end • Uniformitarianism The struggle for existence • Evolution by natural selection Human beings are ultimately nothing but carriers for genes • The rules of heredity We’ve discovered the secret of life • The role of DNA Genes are selfish molecules • The selfish gene

ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Lessons from mathematical theory on the struggle for life • Predator–prey equations Existence is determined by a slender thread of circumstances • Ecological niches Complete competitors cannot coexist • Competitive exclusion principle Poor field experiments can be worse than useless • Field experiments More nectar means more ants and more ants mean more nectar • Mutualisms Whelks are like little wolves in slow motion • Keystone species The fitness of a foraging animal depends on its efficiency • Optimal foraging theory Parasites and pathogens control populations like predators • Ecological epidemiology Why don’t penguins’ feet freeze? • Ecophysiology All life is chemical • Ecological stoichiometry Fear itself is powerful • Nonconsumptive effects of predators on their prey

ORDERING THE NATURAL WORLD

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous • Classification of living things By the help of microscopes nothing escapes our inquiry • The microbiological environment If you do not know the names of things, the knowledge of them is lost • A system for identifying all nature’s organisms “Reproductively isolated” are the key words • Biological species concept Organisms clearly cluster into several primary kingdoms • A modern view of diversity Save the biosphere and you may save the world • Human activity and biodiversity We are in the opening phase of a mass extinction • Biodiversity hotspots

THE VARIETY OF LIFE

It is the microbes that will have the last word • Microbiology Certain tree species have a symbiosis with fungi • The ubiquity of mycorrhizae Food is the burning question • Animal ecology Birds lay the number of eggs that produce the optimum number of offspring • Clutch control The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be • Animal behavior Redefine “tool”, redefine “man”, or accept chimpanzees as humans • Using animal models to understand human behavior All bodily activity depends on temperature • Thermoregulation in insects

ECOSYSTEMS

Every distinct part of nature’s works is necessary for the support of the rest • The food chain All organisms are potential sources of food for other organisms • The ecosystem Life is supported by a vast network of processes • Energy flow through ecosystems The world is green • Trophic cascades Islands are ecological systems • Island biogeography It is the constancy of numbers that matters • Ecological resilience Populations are subjected to unpredictable forces • The neutral theory of biodiversity Only a community of researchers has a chance of revealing the complex whole • Big ecology The best strategy depends on what others are doing • Evolutionarily stable state Species maintain the functioning and stability of ecosystems • Biodiversity and ecosystem function

ORGANISMS IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

The philosophical study of nature connects the present with the past • The distribution of species over space and time The virtual increase of the population is limited by the fertility of the country • The Verhulst equation The first requisite is a thorough knowledge of the natural order • Organisms and their environment Plants live on a different timescale • The foundations of plant ecology The causes of differences among plants • Climate and vegetation I have great faith in a seed • Ecological succession The community arises, grows, matures, and dies • Climax community An association is not an organism but a coincidence • Open community theory A group of species that exploit their environment in a similar way • The ecological guild The citizen network depends on volunteers • Citizen science Population dynamics become chaotic when the rate of reproduction soars • Chaotic population change To visualize the big picture, take a distant view • Macroecology A population of populations • Metapopulations Organisms change and construct the world in which they live • Niche construction Local communities that exchange colonists • Metacommunities

THE LIVING EARTH

The glacier was God’s great plow • Ancient ice ages There is nothing on the map to mark the boundary line • Biogeography Global warming isn’t a prediction. It is happening • Global warming Living matter is the most powerful geological force • The biosphere The system of nature • Biomes We take nature’s services for granted because we don’t pay for them • A holistic view of Earth Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction • Moving continents and evolution Life changes Earth to its own purposes • The Gaia hypothesis 65 million years ago something killed half of all the life on the Earth • Mass extinctions Burning all fuel reserves will initiate the runaway greenhouse • Environmental feedback loops

THE HUMAN FACTOR

Environmental pollution is an incurable disease • Pollution God cannot save these trees from fools • Endangered habitats We are seeing the beginnings of a rapidly changing planet • The Keeling Curve The chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life • The legacy of pesticides A long journey from discovery to political action • Acid rain A finite world can support only a finite population • Overpopulation Dark skies are now blotted out • Light pollution I am fighting for humanity • Deforestation The hole in the ozone layer is a kind of skywriting • Ozone depletion We needed a mandate for change • Depletion of natural resources Bigger and bigger boats chasing smaller and fewer fish • Overfishing The introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm • Invasive species As temperatures increase, the delicately balanced system falls into disarray • Spring creep One of the main threats to biodiversity is infectious diseases • Amphibian viruses Imagine trying to build a house while someone keeps stealing your bricks • Ocean acidification The environmental damage of urban sprawl cannot be ignored • Urban sprawl Our oceans are turning into a plastic soup • A plastic wasteland Water is a public trust and a human right • The water crisis

ENVIRONMENTALISM AND CONSERVATION

The dominion of man over nature rests only on knowledge • Humankind’s dominance over nature Nature is a great economist • The peaceful coexistence of humankind and nature In wildness is the preservation of the world • Romanticism, conservation, and ecology Man everywhere is a disturbing agent • Human devastation of Earth Solar energy is both without limit and without cost • Renewable energy The time has come for science to busy itself with the Earth itself • Environmental ethics Think globally, act locally • The Green Movement The consequences of today’s actions on tomorrow’s world • Man and the Biosphere Programme Predicting a population’s size and its chances of extinction • Population viability analysis Climate change is happening here. It is happening now • Halting climate change The capacity to sustain the world’s population • Sustainable Biosphere Initiative We are playing dice with the natural environment • The economic impact of climate change Monocultures and monopolies are destroying the harvest of seed • Seed diversity Natural ecosystems and their species help sustain and fulfill human life • Ecosystem services We are living on this planet as though we have another one to go to • Waste disposal

DIRECTORY GLOSSARY CONTRIBUTORS QUOTE ATTRIBUTIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS COPYRIGHT

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