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.

Genera Orchidacearum provides a comprehensive, robust classification of the orchids, with descriptions of individual species and cultural information. It begins wiht introductory chapters outlining the long history of efforts by plant scientists and breeders to provide a scientific classification of the orchids. This is the first fully comprehensive, modern treatment of orchid classification to be published. Volume two looks at 100 genera in subfamily Orchidaceae, many of them with bizarre pollination mechanisms. Recent advances in molecular approaches, especially multigene analyses, combined with several other types of new data, have resulted in a redefinition of many genera. This volume aims to produce a more robust and natural account of the orchids at the generic level, and to incorporate this new molecular data into a truly phylogenetic classification, whilst identifying areas and taxa that require additional study.

One of the enduring questions about our planet is how it has remained continuously habitable over vast stretches of geological time despite the fact that its atmosphere and climate are potentially unstable. James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis posits that life itself has intervened in the regulation of the planetary environment in order to keep it stable and favorable for life. First proposed in the 1970s, Lovelock's hypothesis remains highly controversial and continues to provoke fierce debate. "On Gaia" undertakes the first in-depth investigation of the arguments put forward by Lovelock and others--and concludes that the evidence doesn't stack up in support of Gaia.

Toby Tyrrell draws on the latest findings in fields as diverse as climate science, oceanography, atmospheric science, geology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. He takes readers to obscure corners of the natural world, from southern Africa where ancient rocks reveal that icebergs were once present near the equator, to mimics of cleaner fish on Indonesian reefs, to blind fish deep in Mexican caves. Tyrrell weaves these and many other intriguing observations into a comprehensive analysis of the major assertions and lines of argument underpinning Gaia, and finds that it is not a credible picture of how life and Earth interact.

"On Gaia" reflects on the scientific evidence indicating that life and environment mutually affect each other, and proposes that feedbacks on Earth do not provide robust protection against the environment becoming uninhabitable--or against poor stewardship by us.

The field of plant population ecology has advanced considerably in the last decade since the first edition was published. In particular there have been substantial and ongoing advances in statistics and modelling applications in population ecology, as well as an explosion of new techniques reflecting the availability of new technologies (e.g. affordable and accurate Global Positioning Systems) and advances in molecular biology. This new edition has been updated and revised with more recent examples replacing older ones where appropriate. The book's trademark question-driven approach has been maintained and some important topics such as the metapopulation concept which are missing entirely from the current edition are now included throughout the text.

This book is the first in a series of planned synthesis volumes from sites funded by the National Science Foundation's Long-term Ecological Research Program. This volume focuses on over 15 years of research at the Konza Prairie in NE Kansas and provides a unique perspective on the structural and functional ecology of a grassland ecosystem that once covered most of central North America.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE TS ELIOT PRIZE FOR POETRY 2020 WINNER OF THE SCOTTISH BOOK AWARDS' POETRY BOOK OF THE YEAR A POETRY BOOK SOCIETY RECOMMENDATION SHORTLISTED FOR THE JOHN POLLARD FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL POETRY PRIZE "Whip-smart, sonically gorgeous" - Rae Armantrout, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Versed When Louis Pasteur observed the process of fermentation, he noted that, while most organisms perished from lack of oxygen, some were able to thrive as 'life without air'. In this capricious, dreamlike collection, characters and scenes traverse states of airlessness, from suffocating relationships and institutions, to toxic environments and ecstatic asphyxiations. Both compassionate and ecologically nuanced, this innovative collection bridges poetry and prose to interrogate the conditions necessary for survival.

This thoroughly revised and updated edition provides an accessible overview of the rapidly advancing field of plant physiology. Key topics covered include absorption of water, ascent of sap, transpiration, mineral nutrition, fat metabolism, enzymes and plant hormones. Separate chapters are included on photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen metabolism, and emphasis is placed on their contribution to food security, climate resilient farming (or climate-smart agriculture) and sustainable development. There is also a chapter on the seminal contributions of plant physiologists. Supported by the inclusion of laboratory experimental exercises and solved numerical problems, the text emphasises the conceptual framework, for example, in coverage of topics such as thermodynamics, water potential gradients and energy transformation during metabolic processes, water use efficiency (WUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Bringing together the theoretical and practical details, this text is accessible, self-contained and student-friendly.

The globalization of trade, monetary and fiscal policies, capital markets, and investment patterns is reshaping the world economy and is leading to new financial, commercial, and marketing structures as well as unprecedented economies of scale. Simultaneously, national and international awareness and to strengthen. There is consensus among responses to accelerating environmental degradation continue most developed countries that the rapidly evolving new economic order needs to be well integrated with policies to maintain or restore environmental quality. Many challenges remain, however, in evaluating the geo-ecological implications of economic globalization, and in formulating the appropriate management responses. In lakes and rivers, the management of water supply and quality has largely proceeded on the basis of local considerations rather than at the global scale that has been more typical of environmental management of the atmosphere and ocean. It is increasingly apparent, however, that high-quality water resources are now in critically short supply not only because of local problems such as over-irrigation and eutrophication, but also as a result of larger-scale climate effects on the hydrosphere. This magnitude of impact will increasingly require the integrated monitoring and management of water resources on a planetary scale, with world criteria for environmental assessment, restoration, and conservation strategies. The increasing extent of world trade in potable freshwater heightens the urgency for establishing international approaches, criteria, and regulations.

Sir Arthur George Tansley (1871 1955) was an English botanist who made significant contributions to the development of ecology and the conservation movement. In this volume, which was first published in 1945, Tansley discusses the ways in which English natural habitats might be preserved in the face of post-war modernisation processes. The book puts forward the thesis that English rural beauty can only be protected through 'the deliberate conservation of much of our native vegetation', a process that must be achieved through a proper understanding of plant ecology. This process, of course, runs in tandem with the aim of protecting the various forms of animal life which find their homes within a diversity of habitats. The text also contains numerous photographic figures and a detailed index. This is a fascinating book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in ecology and botany.

To gain a more complete understanding of plant-based ecological community structure requires knowledge of the integration of direct and indirect effects in plant herbivore systems. Trait modification of plants as a result of herbivory is very common and widespread in terrestrial plants, and this initiates indirect interactions between organisms that utilise the same host plant. This 2007 book argues that food webs by themselves are inadequate models for understanding ecological communities, because they ignore important indirect, nontrophic links. This subject is of great importance in understanding not only community organisation but also in identifying the underlying mechanisms of maintenance of biodiversity in nature. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students interested in community and population ecology, evolutionary biology, biodiversity, botany and entomology.

To provide useful and meaningful information, long-term ecological programs need to implement solid and efficient statistical approaches for collecting and analyzing data. This volume provides rigorous guidance on quantitative issues in monitoring, with contributions from world experts in the field. These experts have extensive experience in teaching fundamental and advanced ideas and methods to natural resource managers, scientists, and students. The chapters present a range of tools and approaches, including detailed coverage of variance component estimation and quantitative selection among alternative designs; spatially balanced sampling; sampling strategies integrating design- and model-based approaches; and advanced analytical approaches such as hierarchical and structural equation modelling. Making these tools more accessible to ecologists and other monitoring practitioners across numerous disciplines, this is a valuable resource for any professional whose work deals with ecological monitoring. Supplementary example software code is available online at www.cambridge.org/9780521191548.

Instead of relying on prescription medications with numerous dangerous side effects, what if you could opt for a safer, natural alternative to address your health concerns? Medicinal plants for therapeutic purposes have been used for many years. The antimicrobial activity of essential oils and their major constituents has been widely documented by several works, however, in a fragmented way. Based on this premise, this book is designed to provide an overview of current knowledge about the antimicrobial properties of essential oils and their mechanisms of action, either alone or in combination, as a possible tool for obtaining new antibiotics.

Tropical habitats cover over one third of the Earth's terrestrial surface and harbor much of its biodiversity, with many areas rich in endemic species. However, these ecosystems are under significant and growing threat from issues such as deforestation, land degradation and ocean acidification. This introductory textbook provides a comprehensive guide to the major tropical biomes. It is unique in its balanced coverage of both aquatic and terrestrial systems and in its international scope. Each chapter is built around a particular tropical ecosystem, with descriptive case studies providing a framework around which ecological concepts and applied ecological topics are presented. This second edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect recent advances in the field and includes a greater focus on the impact of global climate change. The text is supported throughout by boxes containing supplementary material and is illustrated with over 200 clear, simple line diagrams, maps and photographs.

Pillars of Evolution provides a fresh and provocative perspective on adaptive evolution. Readers new to the study of evolution will find a refreshing new insight that establishes evolutionary biology as a rigorous and predictive science, whilst practicing biologists will discover a provocative book that challenges traditional approaches.
The book begins by leading readers through the mechanics of heredity, reproduction, movement, survival, and development. With that framework in place, it then explores the numerous ways that traits emerge from the interactions between genetics, development, and the environment. The key message is that adaptive changes in traits (and their underlying allelic frequencies) evolve through the traits' functions and their connection with fitness. The complex mappings from genes-to-traits-to-fitness are characterized in the structure of evolution. A single "structure matrix" describes why individuals vary in the values of adaptive traits, their ability to perform the function of those traits, and in the fitness they accrue. Fitness depends on how organisms interact with and perceive their environment in time and space. These relationships are made explicit in spatial, temporal, and organizational scale that also sets the stage for the crucially important role that ecology always plays in evolution. The ecological hallmarks of density- and frequency-dependent interactions allow the authors to explore new and exciting insights into evolution's dynamics. The theories and principles are then brought together in a final synthesis on adaptation.
The book's unique approach unites genetic, development, and environmental influences into a single comprehensive treatment of the eco-evolutionary process.

Bryophytes, especially mosses, represent a largely untapped resource for monitoring and indicating effects of climate change on the living environment. They are tied very closely to the external environment and have been likened to 'canaries in the coal mine'. Bryophyte Ecology and Climate Change is the first book to bring together a diverse array of research in bryophyte ecology, including physiology, desiccation tolerance, photosynthesis, temperature and UV responses, under the umbrella of climate change. It covers a great variety of ecosystems in which bryophytes are important, including aquatic, desert, tropical, boreal, alpine, Antarctic, and Sphagnum-dominated wetlands, and considers the effects of climate change on the distribution of common and rare species as well as the computer modeling of future changes. This book should be of particular value to individuals, libraries, and research institutions interested in global climate change.

This volume represents a uniquely comprehensive overview of our current knowledge on tropical montane cloud forests. 72 chapters cover a wide spectrum of topics including cloud forest distribution, climate, soils, biodiversity, hydrological processes, hydrochemistry and water quality, climate change impacts, and cloud forest conservation, management, and restoration. The final chapter presents a major synthesis by some of the world's leading cloud forest researchers, which summarizes our current knowledge and considers the sustainability of these forests in an ever-changing world. This book presents state-of-the-art knowledge concerning cloud forest occurrence and status, as well as the biological and hydrological value of these unique forests. The presentation is academic but with a firm practical emphasis. It will serve as a core reference for academic researchers and students of environmental science and ecology, as well as practitioners (natural resources management, forest conservation) and decision makers at local, national, and international levels.

Ferns are an integral part of the world's flora, appreciated for their beauty as ornamentals, problematic as invaders and endangered by human interference. They often dominate forest understories but also colonize open areas, invade waterways and survive in nutrient-poor wastelands and eroded pastures. Presented here is the first comprehensive summary of fern ecology, with worldwide examples from Siberia to the islands of Hawaii. Topics include a brief history of the ecological study of ferns, a global survey of fern biogeography, fern population dynamics, the role of ferns in ecosystem nutrient cycles, their adaptations to xeric environments and future directions in fern ecology. Fully illustrated concepts and processes provide a framework for future research and utilization of ferns for graduate students and professionals in ecology, conservation and land management.

Yet another Springer world-beater, this is the first ever book devoted to the chemical ecology of algae. It covers both marine and freshwater habitats and all types of algae, from seaweeds to phytoplankton. While the book emphasizes the ecological rather than chemical aspects of the field, it does include a unique introductory chapter that serves as a primer on algal natural products chemistry.

A unique and critical analysis of the wealth of research conducted on the biology, biochemistry and chemical ecology of the rapidly growing field of insect cuticular hydrocarbons. Authored by leading experts in their respective fields, the twenty chapters show the complexity that has been discovered in the nature and role of hydrocarbons in entomology. Covers, in great depth, aspects of chemistry (structures, qualitative and quantitative analysis), biochemistry (biosynthesis, molecular biology, genetics, evolution), physiology, taxonomy, and ecology. Clearly presents to the reader the array of data, ideas, insights and historical disagreements that have been accumulated during the past half century. An emphasis is placed on the role of insect hydrocarbons in chemical communication, especially among the social insects. Includes the first review on the chemical synthesis of insect hydrocarbons. The material presented is a major resource for current researchers and a source of ideas for new researchers.

Wetlands are unique and fragile environments that provide a transition between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Focusing on freshwater wetlands with emergent vegetation, this book considers productivity in relation to communities of animals and plants and their environments, mineral cycling, hydrology, and management. The contributors emphasize the biological interactions and processes underlying the structure and functioning of wetlands, revealing the need to appreciate the dynamics of the system to establish appropriate management and conservation practices. Based largely on research carried out during the International Biological Programme, this unique synthesis brings together a wealth of information, which until now had been widely dispersed in the literature and often difficult to locate. This comprehensive volume will be an important resource for all those concerned with the ecology, management and conservation of these sensitive natural habitats.

Bryophytes were a pivotal step in land plant evolution, and their significance in the regulation of ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity is becoming increasingly acknowledged. This introductory textbook assumes no prior knowledge of bryophyte biology, making it ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as amateur botanists. The authors expertly summarise the diversity of bryophytes and outline recent advances in our understanding of their evolutionary history, their ecological roles and preferences, their distribution patterns and conservation needs. The text is highly illustrated throughout, with boxed summaries of topics of current relevance in bryophyte biology, and a glossary of technical terms.

With their team of contemporary scholars, the editors present a thorough coverage of fundamental topics necessary for obtaining an up-to-date understanding of the biology of ferns and lycophytes. The book is organized into major topics that build from the individual and its biochemistry and structure, to genetics and populations, to interactions among individuals and the conservation of species, and concludes with perspectives on evolutionary history and classification. Each chapter is organized to review past work, explore current questions, and suggest productive directions for continued discoveries about these fascinating groups of organisms. Written for upper undergraduates, graduates and academic researchers, Biology and Evolution of Ferns and Lycophytes fills a major gap in biological, organism-level, evolutionary literature by providing a review of the biology and evolution of this important group of vascular land plants.

Taking a functional rather than an ecosystem or a utilitarian approach, Thomas and Packham provide a concise account of the structure of woodlands and forests. Using examples from around the world - from polar treelines to savannahs to tropical rain forests - the authors explain the structure of the soil and the hidden world of the roots; how the main groups of organisms which live within them interact both positively and negatively. There is particular emphasis on woodland and forest processes, especially those involving the flow and cycling of nutrients, as well as the dynamics of wooded areas, considering how and why they have changed through geological time and continue to do so. This clear, non-technical, 2007 text will be of interest to undergraduates, foresters, ecologists and land managers.

This concise, readable introduction to limnology (the science of investigating the structure and function of inland waters), places the subject in the context of modern ecology. Unlike most ecological textbooks, which use examples taken almost exclusively from terrestrial systems, this book integrates the fields of limnology and ecology by presenting empirical data drawn entirely from freshwater ecosystems in order to advance ecological theories (limnoecology).
This second edition builds upon the strengths of the first with the structure of the book following the same hierarchical concept of ecology, from habitat properties, individuals, populations, coupled populations and communities to ecosystems. However, it has been thoroughly revised throughout to incorporate findings from new technologies and methods (notably the rapid development of molecular genetic methods and stable isotope techniques) that have allowed a rapid and ongoing development of the field. There is a new emphasis on food webs, species diversity and ecosystem functioning, climate change, and conservation management. Key ecological questions are examined in the light of the latest experimental evidence. Throughout the text evolutionary theory is applied to an understanding of freshwater ecosystems, thereby filling a niche between traditional limnology and evolutionary ecology.
This accessible text is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in limnology, freshwater ecology, and aquatic biology as well as the many professional limnologists, ecologists and conservation biologists requiring a concise but authoritative overview of the topic.

New or recently sterilized islands (for example through volcanic activity), provide ecologists with natural experiments in which to study colonization, development and establishment of new biological communities. Studies carried out on islands like this have provided answers to fundamental questions as to what general principles are involved in the ecology of communities and what processes underlie and maintain the basic structure of ecosystems. These studies are vital for conservation biology, especially when evolutionary processes need to be maintained in systems in order to maintain biodiversity. The major themes are how animal and plant communities establish, particularly on 'new land' or following extirpations by volcanic activity. This book comprises a broad review of island colonization, bringing together succession models and general principles, case studies with which Professor Ian Thornton was intimately involved, and a synthesis of ideas, concluding with a look to the future for similar studies.