A uniquely collaborative analysis of human adaptation to the Polynesian islands, told through oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical records Humans began to settle the area we know as Polynesia between 3,000 and 800 years ago, bringing with them material culture, including plants and animals, and ideas about societal organization, and then adapting to the specific biophysical features of the islands they discovered. The authors of this book analyze the formation of their human-environment systems using oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical records, arguing that the Polynesian islands can serve as useful models for how human societies in general interact with their environments. The islands' clearly defined (and relatively isolated) environments, comparatively recent discovery by humans, and innovative and dynamic societies allow for insights not available when studying other cultures. Kamana Beamer, Te Maire Tau, and Peter Vitousek have collaborated with a dozen other scholars, many of them Polynesian, to show how these cultures adapted to novel environments in the past and how we can draw insights for global sustainability today.

"Sterner and Elser provide the definitive text on ecological stoichiometry. This is a fundamental advance in unifying ecology across levels of organization."--Simon A. Levin, Princeton University

""Ecological Stoichiometry" is a monumental undertaking without ecological precedent. Sterner and Elser offer a majestic and novel synthesis of a broad and diverse field of study that ranges from chemistry to metabolism to global ecology. These two world-class scientists have singlehandedly created a brand-new subdiscipline, one that will likely spawn new research foci, and have done so in a captivating manner. This precedent-setting treatise will be the 'go-to' reference in this poorly consolidated but relevant field of physiological ecology."----David M. Karl, University of Hawaii

"This is a work of enormous synthetic power that practically defines the field of ecological stoichiometry. It is certainly the most significant contribution to the field. Each chapter follows a logical progression, and the style is informal and very readable."--Donald L. DeAngelis, University of Miami

"A truly outstanding book. Sterner and Elser provide extremely convincing evidence in support of their hypothesis that elemental stoichiometry is a key to many central issues in ecology. The writing style is unusually clear and concise. The book is exceptionally well conceived, has eminently valuable goals, and will definitely serve a strong need in the scientific community."--Val H. Smith, University of Kansas

"This very readable, well-organized book will broaden the purview of food-web and trophodynamic studies and have a similar impact as did ecological energetics decades ago. It offers an opportunity tomerge the hitherto separate fields of community ecology and biogeochemistry."--Ulrich Sommer, University of Kiel

The availability or lack of nutrients shapes ecosystems in fundamental ways. From forest productivity to soil fertility, from the diversity of animals to the composition of microbial communities, nutrient cycling and limitation are the basic mechanisms underlying ecosystem ecology. In this book, Peter Vitousek builds on over twenty years of research in Hawai'i to evaluate the controls and consequences of variation in nutrient availability and limitation.

Integrating research from geochemistry, pedology, atmospheric chemistry, ecophysiology, and ecology, Vitousek addresses fundamental questions: How do the cycles of different elements interact? How do biological processes operating in minutes or hours interact with geochemical processes operating over millions of years? How does biological diversity interact with nutrient cycling and limitation in ecosystems? The Hawaiian Islands provide the author with an excellent model system for answering these questions as he integrates across levels of biological organization. He evaluates the connections between plant nutrient use efficiency, nutrient cycling and limitation within ecosystems, and nutrient input-output budgets of ecosystems.

This book makes use of the Hawaiian ecosystems to explore the mechanisms that shape productivity and diversity in ecosystems throughout the world. It will be essential reading for all ecologists and environmental scientists.

A uniquely collaborative analysis of human adaptation to the Polynesian islands, told through oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical records Humans began to settle the area we know as Polynesia between 3,000 and 800 years ago, bringing with them material culture, including plants and animals, and ideas about societal organization, and then adapting to the specific biophysical features of the islands they discovered. The authors of this book analyze the formation of their human-environment systems using oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical records, arguing that the Polynesian islands can serve as useful models for how human societies in general interact with their environments. The islands' clearly defined (and relatively isolated) environments, comparatively recent discovery by humans, and innovative and dynamic societies allow for insights not available when studying other cultures. Kamana Beamer, Te Maire Tau, and Peter Vitousek have collaborated with a dozen other scholars, many of them Polynesian, to show how these cultures adapted to novel environments in the past and how we can draw insights for global sustainability today.