Functional ecology is the branch of ecology that focuses on various functions that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. This accessible guide offers the main concepts and tools in trait-based ecology, and their tricks, covering different trophic levels and organism types. It is designed for students, researchers and practitioners who wish to get a handy synthesis of existing concepts, tools and trends in trait-based ecology, and wish to apply it to their own field of interest. Where relevant, exercises specifically designed to be run in R are included, along with accompanying on-line resources including solutions for exercises and R functions, and updates reflecting current developments in this fast-changing field. Based on more than a decade of teaching experience, the authors developed and improved the way theoretical aspects and analytical tools of trait-based ecology are introduced and explained to readers.

Functional ecology is the branch of ecology that focuses on various functions that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. This accessible guide offers the main concepts and tools in trait-based ecology, and their tricks, covering different trophic levels and organism types. It is designed for students, researchers and practitioners who wish to get a handy synthesis of existing concepts, tools and trends in trait-based ecology, and wish to apply it to their own field of interest. Where relevant, exercises specifically designed to be run in R are included, along with accompanying on-line resources including solutions for exercises and R functions, and updates reflecting current developments in this fast-changing field. Based on more than a decade of teaching experience, the authors developed and improved the way theoretical aspects and analytical tools of trait-based ecology are introduced and explained to readers.

Covering 263 square miles, Singapore is an unrivalled success story. The Island nation contains the headquarters of 200 banks, its port competes with that of Rotterdam for the title of the busiest in the world, a good part of the planet's crude oil is refined there, and it boasts countless chemical, electronic, and pharmaceutical industries. Founded in the 7th century A.D., it later disappeared from maps after having been an active trading centre, but was reborn in 1819 thanks to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, an official of Britain's East Indies Company. When he landed, Singapore already had a name promising a roaring future: Singapura, the City of the Lion. Its modern, enterprising mentality and tireless desire for expansion has transformed this small city-state on the Equator into one of the Orient's most important metropolises. Yet, tradition and the local culture have not disappeared. Next to the temples of the Little India neighbourhood stand skyscrapers and super-modern shopping malls; the red lanterns of Chinatown line multi-lane roads where the most luxurious automobiles speed by; and everywhere exotic fragrances seduce and charm visitors. In full colour throughout, this is a new title in the popular "Countries of the World" series.

Nomadic people, have over the years, been subject to prejudice and negative thinking by sedentarised societies as well as by political and legislative systems. It was finally only in the 1970s that international lawyers began to reassess the status of these peoples, to recognise their rights and above all, to protect them. In his thesis Marco Moretti defines the relationship between nomadic people and law-makers between the 16th and 19th centuries. This is followed by establishing the evolution of the human rights movement, recognising peoples who are not state-entities and therefore giving place for the existence of nomadic people worldwide.