Throughout the twentieth century, biologists investigated the
mechanisms that stabilize biological populations, populations
which--if unchecked by such agencies as competition and
predation--should grow geometrically. How is order in nature
maintained in the face of the seemingly disorderly struggle for
existence? In this book, Laurence Mueller and Amitabh Joshi examine
current theories of population stability and show how recent
laboratory research on model populations--particularly blowflies,
"Tribolium, " and "Drosophila"--contributes to our understanding of
population dynamics and the evolution of stability.
The authors review the general theory of population stability
and critically analyze techniques for inferring whether a given
population is in balance or not. They then show how rigorous
empirical research can reveal both the proximal causes of stability
(how populations are regulated and maintained at an equilibrium,
including the relative roles of biotic and abiotic factors) and its
ultimate, mostly evolutionary causes. In the process, they describe
experimental studies on model systems that address the effects of
age-structure, inbreeding, resource levels, and population
structure on the stability and persistence of populations. The
discussion incorporates the authors' own findings on the evolution
of population stability in "Drosophila." They go on to relate
laboratory work to studies of animals in the wild and to develop a
general framework for relating the life history and ecology of a
species to its population dynamics.
This accessible, finely written illustration of how carefully
designed experiments can improve theory will have tremendous value
for all ecologists and evolutionary biologists.
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