
Untangling Ecological Complexity
The Macroscopic Perspective
Brian A. Maurer(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Will be published approx. on 1. February 1999
Book
Hardback
262 pages
978-0-226-51132-0 (ISBN)
Description
Ecologists increasingly find themselves called upon to address the impacts of global change on biodiversity. Yet most studies of biodiversity focus solely on intensive, experimental analyses of localized ecological communities. This text argues for a more pluralistic approach, showing how ecologists might enhance their ability to tackle global problems by incorporating broader spatial and temporal perspectives into their research. Brian A. Maurer begins by reviewing the strengths and limitations of reductionist experimental approaches. Although these studies have produced much valuable data, their small scale restricts the kinds of inferences that can be drawn from them. Maurer then demonstrates how statistical methods can be used to identify processes (such as dispersal or nonrandom extinction) that operate across broad geographic scales, yet which also have profound impacts on local ecosystems. This macroscopic perspective, Maurer suggests, provides a powerful tool for untangling ecological complexity.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 24 mm
Width: 16 mm
Thickness: 6 mm
Weight
510 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-51132-0 (9780226511320)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
Acknowledgments Ch. 1: Of Entangled Banks and Humble Bees Ch. 2: From Micro to Macro and Back Again Ch. 3: Communities on Small Spatial and Temporal Scales Ch. 4: Communities as Linear Systems Ch. 5: Communities as Nonlinear Systems Ch. 6: Macroecology: Expanding the Spatial Scale of Community Ecology Ch. 7: Geographic Range Structure: Niches Written in Space Ch. 8: Geographic Assembly of Local Communities Ch. 9: The Evolution of Species Diversity at the Macroscale Ch. 10: The Macroscopic Perspective and the Future of Ecology Literature Cited Index