Description Ecology: Concepts and Applications was written for students taking their first undergraduate course in ecology. The authors have assumed that students in this one-semester course have some knowledge of basic chemistry and mathematics and have had a course in general biology, which included introductions to evolution, physiology, and biological diversity.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction to Ecology: Historical Foundations and Developing Frontiers
Section I Natural History and Evolution
2 Life on Land
3 Life in Water
4 Population Genetics and Natural Selection
Section II Adaptations to the Environment
5 Temperature Relations
6 Water Relations
7 Energy and Nutrient Relations
8 Social Relations
Section III Population Ecology
9 Population Distribution and Abundance
10 Population Dynamics
11 Population Growth
12 Life Histories
Section IV Interactions
13 Species Interactions and Competition
14 Exploitative Interactions: Predation, Herbivory, Parasitism, and Disease
15 Mutualism
Section V Communities and Ecosystems
16 Species Abundance and Diversity
17 Species Interactions and Community Structure
18 Primary and Secondary Production
19 Nutrient Cycling and Retention
20 Succession and Stability
Section VI Large-Scale Ecology
21 Landscape Ecology
22 Geographic Ecology
23 Global Ecology
Manuel C. Molles Jr.,University of New Mexico Anna A. Sher, University of Denver