One of the central questions of ecology is why there are so many
different kinds of plants and animals. Here David Tilman presents a
theory of how organisms compete for resources and the way their
competition promotes diversity. Developing Hutchinson's suggestion
that the main cause of diversity is the feeding relations of
species, this book builds a mechanistic, resource-based explanation
of the structure and functioning of ecological communities. In a
detailed analysis of the Park Grass Experiments at the Rothamsted
Experimental Station in England, the author demonstrates that the
dramatic results of these 120 years of experimentation are
consistent with his theory, as are observations in many other
natural communities. The consumer-resource approach of this book is
applicable to both animal and plant communities, but the majority
of Professor Tilman's discussion concentrates on the structure of
plant communities. All theoretical arguments are developed
graphically, and formal mathematics is kept to a minimum. The final
chapters of the book provide some testable speculations about
resources and animal communities and explore such problems as the
evolution of "super species," the differences between plant and
animal community diversity patterns, and the cause of plant
succession.
General
Imprint: |
Princeton University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Monographs in Population Biology |
Release date: |
August 1982 |
First published: |
August 1982 |
Authors: |
David Tilman
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 140 x 21mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
296 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-691-08302-5 |
Categories: |
Books >
Earth & environment >
The environment >
Applied ecology >
General
|
LSN: |
0-691-08302-9 |
Barcode: |
9780691083025 |
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