Despite its supreme importance and the threat of its global crash, biodiversity remains poorly understood both empirically and theoretically. This ambitious book presents a new, general neutral theory to explain the origin, maintenance, and loss of biodiversity in a biogeographic context.

Until now biogeography (the study of the geographic distribution of species) and biodiversity (the study of species richness and relative species abundance) have had largely disjunct intellectual histories. In this book, Stephen Hubbell develops a formal mathematical theory that unifies these two fields. When a speciation process is incorporated into Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson's now classical theory of island biogeography, the generalized theory predicts the existence of a universal, dimensionless biodiversity number. In the theory, this fundamental biodiversity number, together with the migration or dispersal rate, completely determines the steady-state distribution of species richness and relative species abundance on local to large geographic spatial scales and short-term to evolutionary time scales.

Although neutral, Hubbell's theory is nevertheless able to generate many nonobvious, testable, and remarkably accurate quantitative predictions about biodiversity and biogeography. In many ways Hubbell's theory is the ecological analog to the neutral theory of genetic drift in genetics. The unified neutral theory of biogeography and biodiversity should stimulate research in new theoretical and empirical directions by ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and biogeographers.

This book investigates the spatial distribution of potential temperature-driven malaria transmissions, using the basic reproduction rate (R0) to model the reproduction of the malaria pathogen Plasmodium vivax. The authors mapped areas at risk of an outbreak of tertian malaria in the federal state of Lower Saxony (pre-study) and for whole Germany (main-study) by means of geostatistics for past (1947-2007) and future periods. Projections based on predicted monthly mean air temperature data derived from the IPCC and regionally discriminated by two regional climate models (REMO, WettReg) for the countrywide study.

The second edition of this widely cited textbook continues to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave and subterranean biology, describing this fascinating habitat and its biodiversity. It covers a range of biological processes including ecosystem function, evolution and adaptation, community ecology, biogeography, and conservation. The authors draw on a global range of examples and case studies from both caves and non-cave subterranean habitats. One of the barriers to the study of subterranean biology has been the extraordinarily large number of specialized terms used by researchers; the authors explain these terms clearly and minimize the number that they use. This new edition retains the same 10 chapter structure of the original, but the content has been thoroughly revised and updated throughout to reflect the huge increase in publications concerning subterranean biology over the last decade.

This book bridges a gap in the literature by bringing together leading specialists from different backgrounds. It addresses the specific need for a readable book on this very interdisciplinary and new topic at research level.

Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson's "The Theory of Island Biogeography," first published by Princeton in 1967, is one of the most influential books on ecology and evolution to appear in the past half century. By developing a general mathematical theory to explain a crucial ecological problem--the regulation of species diversity in island populations--the book transformed the science of biogeography and ecology as a whole. In "The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited," some of today's most prominent biologists assess the continuing impact of MacArthur and Wilson's book four decades after its publication. Following an opening chapter in which Wilson reflects on island biogeography in the 1960s, fifteen chapters evaluate and demonstrate how the field has extended and confirmed--as well as challenged and modified--MacArthur and Wilson's original ideas. Providing a broad picture of the fundamental ways in which the science of island biogeography has been shaped by MacArthur and Wilson's landmark work, "The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited" also points the way toward exciting future research.

Changing concentrations of greenhouse gasses are key to our changing climate. Biogeochemical Cycles and Climate examines the interaction of the main biogeochemical cycles of the earth with the physics of climate from the perspective of the earth as an integrated system. Biogeochemical cycles play a fundamental role in the Earth's system - they describe the movement of matter and transfer of energy around the planet. This text aims to answer some fundamental questions. How have the cycles of key nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and water changed, both in the geological past and more recently through the impact of humans on the Earth System? How do these cycles interact with each other and affect the physical properties of climate? How can we use this knowledge to mitigate some of the impacts of changing biogeochemistry on climate, and the Earth's habitability and resilience? Understanding the complex interactions of biogeochemistry with the Earth's climate is crucial for understanding past and current changes in climate and above all, for the future sustainable management of our planet.

How did time begin? What conditions led to humans evolving on Earth? Will we survive the Anthropocene? And is it really true that we're all made from stars? Combining knowledge from chemistry, biology, and physics, with insights from the social sciences and humanities, A Brief History of the Last 13.8 Billion Years follows the continuum of historical change in the cosmos - from the Big Bang, through the evolution of life, to human history. In this compelling and revealing book, David Baker traces the rise of complexity in the cosmos, from the first atoms to the first life and then to humans and the things we have made. He shows us how simple clumps of hydrogen gas transformed into complex human societies. This approach - Big History - allows us to see beyond the chaos of human affairs to the overall trajectory. Finally, Baker looks at the dramatic and sudden changes we're making to our planet and its biosphere and how history hints at what might come next.

Animals have played a fundamental role in shaping human history, and the study of their remains from archaeological sites-zooarchaeology-has gradually been emerging as a powerful discipline and crucible for forging an understanding of our past. The Oxford Handbook of Zooarchaeology offers a cutting-edge compendium of zooarchaeology the world over that transcends environmental, economic, and social approaches, seeking instead to provide a holistic view of the roles played by animals in past human cultures. Incisive chapters written by leading scholars in the field incorporate case studies from across five continents, from Iceland to New Zealand and from Japan to Egypt and Ecuador, providing a sense of the dynamism of the discipline, the many approaches and methods adopted by different schools and traditions, and an idea of the huge range of interactions that have occurred between people and animals throughout the world and its history. Adaptations of human-animal relationships in environments as varied as the Arctic, temperate forests, deserts, the tropics, and the sea are discussed, while studies of hunter-gatherers, farmers, herders, fishermen, and even traders and urban dwellers highlight the importance that animals have had in all forms of human societies. With an introduction that clearly contextualizes the current practice of zooarchaeology in relation to both its history and the challenges and opportunities that can be expected for the future, and a methodological glossary illuminating the way in which zooarchaeologists approach the study of their material, this Handbook will be invaluable not only for specialists in the field, but for anybody who has an interest in our past and the role that animals have played in forging it.

Truly high altitude aquatic ecosystems are found primarily at lower latitudes: vast regions in the tropical part of the Andes, the Himalayas and Tibet, considerable areas in East Africa, and minor zones of Oceania. However, despite their abundance in these regions, their biology and ecology has never been summarized in detail. A current synthesis of the topic is therefore timely. High altitude waters are ideal systems with which to address a broad range of key and topical themes in ecology, both at the regional and global scales. From specific functional adaptations of aquatic species to harsh environmental conditions through to global diversity patterns along altitudinal gradients and extinction risks of mountain populations due to vanishing glaciers, ecological patterns and processes found in high altitude waters are both diverse and singular. Although poorly considered in classical textbooks of ecology and limnology, high altitude waters have much to offer existing (aquatic) ecological theories and applications. These often threatened and exploited habitats are also ideal for studying the intimate interactions between social and ecological systems that characterize the majority of ecosystems in the Anthropocene.

Biogeography has renewed its concepts and methods following important recent advances in phylogenetics, macroecology, and geographic information systems. In parallel, the evolutionary ecology of host-parasite interactions has attracted the interests of numerous studies dealing with life-history traits evolution, community ecology, and evolutionary epidemiology.
The Biogeography of Host-Parasite Interactions is the first book to integrate these two fields, using examples from a variety of host-parasite associations in various regions, and across both ecological and evolutionary timescales. Besides a strong theoretical component, there is a bias towards applications, specifically in the fields of historical biogeography, palaeontology, phylogeography, landscape epidemiology, invasion biology, conservation biology, human evolution, and health ecology. A particular emphasis concerns emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases linked to global changes.

Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century surveys American geographers' current research in their specialty areas and tracks trends and innovations in the many subfields of geography. As such, it is both a 'state of the discipline' assessment and a topical reference.
It includes an introduction by the editors and 47 chapters, each on a specific specialty. The authors of each chapter were chosen by their specialty group of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). Based on a process of review and revision, the chapters in this volume have become truly representative of the recent scholarship of American geographers. While it focuses on work since 1990, it additionally includes related prior work and work by non-American geographers.
The initial Geography in America was published in 1989 and has become a benchmark reference of American geographical research during the 1980s. This latest volume is completely new and features a preface written by the eminent geographer, Gilbert White.

Biogeoscience is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field that aims to bring together biological and geophysical processes. This book builds an enhanced understanding of ecosystems by focusing on the integrative connections between ecological processes and the geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. Each chapter provides studies by researchers who have contributed to the biogeoscience synthesis, presenting the latest research on the relationships between ecological processes, such as conservation laws and heat and transport processes, and geophysical processes, such as hillslope, fluvial and aeolian geomorphology, and hydrology. Highlighting the value of biogeoscience as an approach to understand ecosystems, this is an ideal resource for researchers and students in both ecology and the physical sciences.

This updated and expanded book first published nearly 20 years ago integrates new and broader studies encompassing more species and increased island coverage. The current synthesis provides a basis for further research and exploration in upcoming years of the biologically fascinating Sea of Cortes region in Mexico. This new edition includes a section on the conservation issues in this area, and past accomplishments and conservation needs as yet outstanding.

Bird migration is a charismatic topic that has fascinated naturalists for centuries. This book, the only concise and accessible synthesis of the area, describes not only the migrations, the incredible stamina and navigational skills of the birds, the effects on their distributions, survival, and evolution, but also the scientific skills and studies that underlie the information that has been gleaned about migration.

First published in 1979, Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare has established itself as a seminal work in ecology. Now with a new foreword by ecologist and writer Cristina Eisenberg, this penetrating study of ecosystems and animal populations is more relevant than ever. What accounts for the many different species of insect? Why does the robin population stay relatively steady year after year, despite the fact that their nests contain several chicks at once? Paul Colinvaux traces the ecologist's quest to answer these questions and more in this accessibly written book. He brings to the subject both profound knowledge and an enthusiasm that will encourage a greater understanding of the environment and of the efforts of those who seek to preserve it.

Psychological experiments carried out over a period of nearly forty years led Georg von Bekesy to realize that inhibition interconnects, at least in one respect, the fields of vision, hearing, skin sensations, taste, and smell. This book indeed almost creates the field of sensory inhibition as a significant one for study, bringing understanding to many observations that formerly seemed uncertain or unrelated and raising many problems still to be solved. Originally published in 1975. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"Monitoring Plant and Animal Populations" is a thorough overview of monitoring issues. It is designed for field biologists and land managers with a modest statistical background. The authors have written a practical text that will include concrete guidelines for ecologists to follow to design a statistically defensible monitoring program for natural populations and communities.

Features
User-friendly, practical guide, written in a highly readable format which integrates the theme of decision making guidance and management.
Only population monitoring text to focus on both plant and animals.
Interdisciplinary in scope, given the current, widespread interest in monitoring in many environmental fields including pure and applied ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife management.
Includes suggestions for monitoring plant and animal communities.
Outlines the essential concepts in monitoring populations.
Emphasizes the role o monitoring in adaptive management.
Defines important terminology and contrasts monitoring with other data-collection activities.
Provides a step-by-step overview of the monitoring process, as illustrated by flow charts and references.
Illustrates the foundation of management objectives and describes their components, types, and development.
Describes basic terms and concepts relevant to sampling using simple examples.
Explains how to make basic decisions in designing a sample-based monitoring study.
Provides field techniques for measuring important attributes of animal and plant populations.
Covers different ways of recording monitoring data in the field and describes means for entering and managing field monitoringdata sets with computers.
Comprehensive presentation of statistical analysis and communicating results.

Deserts provide a harsh and inhospitable environment for plants and animals, and the ecosystem is correspondingly fragile and prone to disruption by a variety of external factors. The Mojave Desert is a winter-rainfall desert, experiencing drought in the summer months, and occasional rain during the cooler winter months. For many years, it has attracted the attention of ecologists and conservation biologists concerned to maintain the unique status of this region. This book provides a broad overview of plant and animal ecology in the Mojave Desert, presented with a focus on data from Rock Valley, Nevada. The data from many major research projects is synthesized into a description of community structure and dynamics in desert ecosystems.

Psychological experiments carried out over a period of nearly forty years led Georg von Bekesy to realize that inhibition interconnects, at least in one respect, the fields of vision, hearing, skin sensations, taste, and smell. This book indeed almost creates the field of sensory inhibition as a significant one for study, bringing understanding to many observations that formerly seemed uncertain or unrelated and raising many problems still to be solved. Originally published in 1975. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Though biogeography may be simply defined--the study of the geographic distributions of organisms--the subject itself is extraordinarily complex, involving a range of scientific disciplines and a bewildering diversity of approaches. For convenience, biogeographers have recognized two research traditions: ecological biogeography and historical biogeography.

This book makes sense of the profound revolution that historical biogeography has undergone in the last two decades, and of the resulting confusion over its foundations, basic concepts, methods, and relationships to other disciplines of comparative biology. Using case studies, the authors explain and illustrate the fundamentals and the most frequently used methods of this discipline. They show the reader how to tell when a historical biogeographic approach is called for, how to decide what kind of data to collect, how to choose the best method for the problem at hand, how to perform the necessary calculations, how to choose and apply a computer program, and how to interpret results.

No species occurs everywhere. Indeed, the majority are absent from most places, and where they do occur they are usually quite rare. Gaston discusses the structure of these distributions - the structure of the geographic ranges of species.
Gaston is particularly concerned with the factors that determine the limits to a species' geographic range, how the sizes of those ranges vary, and patterns in that variation. Also considered are the distribution of individuals amongst those sites where a species does occur and what determines that distribution, and some of the practical implications of all these.
Both in a pure and applied context, ecologists need a broader perspective on their subject matter than has historically prevailed. This book provides one such perspective.
A must have book for any researchers and graduate students studying macroecology, biogeography and conservation biology.

Group living is a widespread phenomenon amongst animals and has attracted considerable attention in a number of different contexts. This book focuses on the unifying concepts regarding group behaviour that have been developed over the last two decades. The authors discuss the mechanisms that govern the evolution and maintenance of grouping behaviour throughout the animal kingdom, and the factors that control observed group size and group composition in particular situations. Although the book's emphasis is on the elaboration of a conceptual framework, extensive examples and case studies illustrate the diversity of grouping phenomena across taxonomic boundaries, and demonstrate the general applicability of the concepts involved. Living in Groups will familiarize the reader with the latest ideas on the ecology and evolution of group-living animals, providing a summary and critical synthesis of the extensive and diverse literature on the subject.

"Spatial Ecology" addresses the fundamental effects of space on the dynamics of individual species and on the structure, dynamics, diversity, and stability of multispecies communities. Although the ecological world is unavoidably spatial, there have been few attempts to determine how explicit considerations of space may alter the predictions of ecological models, or what insights it may give into the causes of broad-scale ecological patterns. As this book demonstrates, the spatial structure of a habitat can fundamentally alter both the qualitative and quantitative dynamics and outcomes of ecological processes.

"Spatial Ecology" highlights the importance of space to five topical areas: stability, patterns of diversity, invasions, coexistence, and pattern generation. It illustrates both the diversity of approaches used to study spatial ecology and the underlying similarities of these approaches. Over twenty contributors address issues ranging from the persistence of endangered species, to the maintenance of biodiversity, to the dynamics of hosts and their parasitoids, to disease dynamics, multispecies competition, population genetics, and fundamental processes relevant to all these cases. There have been many recent advances in our understanding of the influence of spatially explicit processes on individual species and on multispecies communities. This book synthesizes these advances, shows the limitations of traditional, non-spatial approaches, and offers a variety of new approaches to spatial ecology that should stimulate ecological research.

Being a Scientist is a comprehensive introduction to the many aspects of scientific life beyond the classroom and laboratory. Written with undergraduate science majors in mind, the book covers ethics, the philosophical bases of scientific methods, library research, reading, peer review, creativity, proposal and paper writing, and oral and poster presentations. In contrast to other texts in the field, which often take a simple prescriptive approach to these topics, Being a Scientist connects them to the historical and philosophical roots of modern science, as well as the common experiences of all people. Written in a conversational style, the book makes use of metaphor, historical anecdote, and hypothetical research about everyday household questions. This approach helps undergraduates learn basic research skills without being too intimidated by the advanced concepts, vocabulary, and methods which are encountered in looking at the current scientific literature. Being a Scientist is a textbook for a semester-long course devoted to teaching research and communication skills to undergraduate science majors, but it can be adapted for use in summer research experiences, capstone research courses, and other courses throughout the undergraduate curriculum.

Population genetics has made great strides in applying statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to understand how genes mutate and spread through populations over time. But real populations also live in space. Streams, mountains, and other geographic features often divide populations, limit migration, or otherwise influence gene flow. This book rigorously examines the processes that determine geographic patterns of genetic variation, providing a comprehensive guide to their study and interpretation.

"Geographical Genetics" has a unique focus on the mathematical relationships of spatial statistical measures of patterns to stochastic processes. It also develops the probability and distribution theory of various spatial statistics for analysis of population genetic data, detailing exact methods for using various spatial features to make precise inferences about migration, natural selection, and other dynamic forces. The book also reviews the experimental literature on the types of spatial patterns of genetic variation found within and among populations. And it makes an unprecedented strong connection between observed measures of spatial patterns and those predicted theoretically. Along the way, it introduces readers to the mathematics of spatial statistics, applications to specific population genetic systems, and the relationship between the mathematics of space-time processes and the formal theory of geographical genetics.

Written by a leading authority, this is the first comprehensive treatment of geographical genetics. It is a much-needed guide to the theory, techniques, and applications of a field that will play an increasingly important role in population biology and ecology.