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This is the first volume devoted to the integration of population
and ecosystem ecology--an approach that offers vast potential for
improving our understanding of the complexities of nature and the
management of environmental problems. The editors, Clive Jones and
John Lawton, work at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in New York
and the Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Population
Biology in England, respectively. They have brought together a
distinguished group of experts to explore diverse aspects of
linking species and ecosystem perspectives: theoretical, empirical
and pragmatic including: *processes that range from a local to a
planetary scale *the role of organisms as ecosystem engineers *the
use of ecological flow chains to link population and ecosystem
processes *numerous examples of the influence of species on
ecosystem processes and vice versa *a unique blend of problems and
processes drawn from marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems
*problems of species redundancy in ecosystem processes
*stoichiometric constraints on species interactions; *scaling and
aggregation problems. The book establishes conceptual frameworks
for the rigorous study of interactions between species and
ecosystems, it points to still-unanswered questions, and it
identifies future research directions. Integration of ecology with
its implications for teaching, research and society are central to
the book. This pioneering volume will be an indispensable resource
for ecology researchers, students, and environmental managers and
will stimulate debate on the future integration of the field.
I was asked to introduce this volume by examining "why a knowledge
of ecosys tem functioning can contribute to understanding species
activities, dynamics, and assemblages." I have found it
surprisingly difficult to address this topic. On the one hand, the
answer is very simple and general: because all species live in
ecosystems, they are part of and dependent on ecosystem processes.
It is impossible to understand the abundance and distribution of
populations and the species diversity and composition of
communities without a knowledge of their abiotic and biotic
environments and of the fluxes of energy and mat ter through the
ecosystems of which they are a part. But everyone knows this. It is
what ecology is all about (e.g., Likens, 1992). It is why the
discipline has retained its integrity and thrived, despite a
sometimes distressing degree of bickering and chauvinism among its
various subdisciplines: physiological, be havioral, population,
community, and ecosystem ecology."
As the need increases for sound estimates of impending rates of
animal and plant species extinction, scientists must have a firm
grounding in the qualitative and quantitative methods required to
make the best possible predictions. Extinction Rates offers the
most wide-ranging and practical introduction to those methods
available. With contributions from an international cast of leading
experts, the book combines cutting-edge information on recent and
past extinction rates with treatments of underlying ecological and
evolutionary causes. Throughout, it highlights apparent differences
in extinction rates among taxonomic groups and places, aiming to
identify unresolved issues and important questions. Written with
advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mind, Extinction
Rates will also prove invaluable to researchers in ecology,
conservation biology, and the earth and environmental sciences.
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