Symposia of the British Ecological Society – serie

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.

Over the last 25 years ecology has emerged from being a predominantly descriptive subject to one with a more substantial theoretical framework underpinned by evidence from experiments. In this advance, improved technology had undoubtedly played a most significant role; few ecologists could operate without a computer to hand and many branches of the subject require very sophisticated instrumentation. This period has also been seen much greater precision in the formation of hypothesis, a more general search for mechanisms, increasing integration with other disciplines and increasing demands for applications of the lessons learned. In the light of the progress made in ecology and widening public recognition of the problems to be solved, the future looks very promising. This symposium volume is aimed at considering the most fruitful current approaches and technologies, determining the major obstacles and reviewing the most likely profitable lines of advance.

Once thought of as a pristine environment it is now all too apparent that the Arctic is a sink for pollutants transported northwards over long distances in the atmosphere and oceans and is also likely to be subject to major climate change as a result of global warming. Many ecologists are currently seeking to further our understanding of how Arctic ecosystems function and to detect and predict anthropogenic changes which may occur within them. This book, resulting from a British Ecological Society Special Symposium, addresses these issues. Early chapters provide a background to the soils and periglacial processes of the Arctic and to the role of microbial and plant communities in ecosystem function. The following chapters consider the relationship between individual Arctic species and their environment, particularly in the context of climate change, whilst a further chapter draws together terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in a consideration of trophic cascades. The book ends with four chapters concentrating on man's impacts on the Arctic environment.

Tropical communities are recognised as among the most species-rich and dynamic in the world. Yet far from existing as dynamic equilibria, large unpredictable disruptive events are seen as dominating the longer-term dynamics set against the background of global change. This 1998 volume challenges the dynamic equilibrium idea yet further, arguing for thinking on a timescale of decades to centuries, finding different ways to handle unpredictability and uniqueness, and evaluating species diversity and community change at different scales. The difficult search for robust generalizations and rules in tropical communities, which might allow better prescription through understanding rather than description is partly answered in this forward-looking book by the realization that an alternative framework and perspective is required for the tropics. This volume will continue to appeal to both researchers and advanced students of ecology.

Highlighting both the achievements of the past and the challenges of the future, this volume presents a review of the key ecological issues. Major topics are addressed in evolution and population biology; functional and community ecology; the ecology of changing environments; and the ecology of ecosystems, management and human impacts. It gives an account of key aspects of ecology and of its interfaces with related disciplines, such as genetics and economics. The international team of authors includes some of the most thoughtful ecologists of our time. This book will prove invaluable to both advanced students and researchers in ecology.

Dispersal has become central to many questions in theoretical and applied ecology in recent years. This has come about through advances in measurement and modelling of dispersal, combined with the key role of spatial processes in current environmental problems. This volume, written by a team of leading ecologists, aims to provide both the advanced student and researcher with a comprehensive review of dispersal and its implications for modern ecology. It presents a broad overview considering plants, invertebrates, vertebrates and microorganisms in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Up-to-date methods for measuring dispersal are assessed. The importance of dispersal in ecological theory is addressed in chapters on life history evolution, ecological genetics, population and metapopulation dynamics, invasions, landscape ecology and biogeography. Applied questions on topics such as spread of non-native species, effect of habitat fragmentation, species reintroductions, disease epidemiology, responses to climate change and impacts of genetically modified organisms are also considered.

Macroecology: Concepts and Consequences brings together for the first time major researchers in the field to present overviews of current thinking about the form and determinants of macroecological patterns. Each section presents different viewpoints on the answer to a key question in macroecology, such as why are most species rare, why are most species small-bodied, and why are most species restricted in their distribution?

The profound consequences of the deceptively obvious statement that plants stand still but their genes don't are only just becoming clear. In this volume, an international team of authors, experts in the field of population biology, aim to advance our understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes by integrating them within a common frame of reference: space. Processes operating at three different spatial scales are examined: that of the population, metapopulation and the geographical range. Themes that recur at these different scales include spatial population dynamics, population genetics at boundaries, the imprint of spatial population dynamics upon genetic structure, adaptation, evolution of mating systems and the consequences of population genetics for ecological dynamics. Whilst the focus is largely on plants, the questions addressed are equally applicable to animals. It will be a valuable tool for researchers and advanced students, not only in this field, but also evolutionary biology and resource management.

The last decade has seen countless advances in the measurement and interpretation of the impacts of environmental heterogeneity upon organisms and ecological processes. Progress has been made at a variety of scales of organisation. Following a Symposium on Ecological Consequences of Environmental Heterogeneity, a team of international experts has collaborated to produce this volume. It discusses the effects of environmental heterogeneity; the effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on individuals, populations, communities and biodiversity; and the management and conservation implications of environment heterogeneity. This book will prove to be an invaluable reference work not only to advanced students but also established researchers working in the field.

Genetics and ecology ought to be complementary disciplines at the population level. This conviction underpins this integrative volume, which brings together geneticists and ecologists to confront the implications of the others' discipline for their own work. The book is divided into three sections: first 'Genes in Ecology', the influence of population genetics on our view of ecology; then 'Modules in Ecology', the use of molecular methods to investigate adaptive and ecological processes; finally 'Ecology in Genetics', the integration of ecological principles into genetics. Most chapters have two authors; a geneticist and an ecologist each bringing their own insights to the topics considered, and illustrating the importance of one discipline for the other. The book also includes protocols for relevant molecular and genetic techniques, including DNA purification, polymerase chain reaction, DNA fingerprinting, sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism investigation.

Highlighting both the achievements of the past and the challenges of the future, this volume presents a review of the key ecological issues. Major topics are addressed in evolution and population biology; functional and community ecology; the ecology of changing environments; and the ecology of ecosystems, management and human impacts. It gives an account of key aspects of ecology and of its interfaces with related disciplines, such as genetics and economics. The international team of authors includes some of the most thoughtful ecologists of our time. This book will prove invaluable to both advanced students and researchers in ecology.

Once thought of as a pristine environment it is now all too apparent that the Arctic is a sink for pollutants transported northwards over long distances in the atmosphere and oceans and is also likely to be subject to major climate change as a result of global warming. Many ecologists are currently seeking to further our understanding of how Arctic ecosystems function and to detect and predict anthropogenic changes which may occur within them. This book, resulting from a British Ecological Society Special Symposium, addresses these issues. Early chapters provide a background to the soils and periglacial processes of the Arctic and to the role of microbial and plant communities in ecosystem function. The following chapters consider the relationship between individual Arctic species and their environment, particularly in the context of climate change, whilst a further chapter draws together terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in a consideration of trophic cascades. The book ends with four chapters concentrating on man's impacts on the Arctic environment.

Tropical communities are recognised as among the most species-rich and dynamic in the world. Yet far from existing as dynamic equilibria, large unpredictable disruptive events are seen as dominating the longer-term dynamics set against the background of global change. This 1998 volume challenges the dynamic equilibrium idea yet further, arguing for thinking on a timescale of decades to centuries, finding different ways to handle unpredictability and uniqueness, and evaluating species diversity and community change at different scales. The difficult search for robust generalizations and rules in tropical communities, which might allow better prescription through understanding rather than description is partly answered in this forward-looking book by the realization that an alternative framework and perspective is required for the tropics. This volume will continue to appeal to both researchers and advanced students of ecology.