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The Ecology and Evolution of Inducible Defenses
by Ralph Tollrian & C. Drew HarvellInducible defenses--those often dramatic phenotypic shifts in prey activated by biological agents ranging from predators to pathogens--are widespread in the natural world. Yet research on the inducible defenses used by vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants in terrestrial, marine, and freshwater habitats has largely developed along independent lines. Ralph Tollrian and Drew Harvell seek to change that here. By bringing together leading researchers from all fields to review common themes and explore emerging ideas, this book represents the most current and comprehensive survey of knowledge about the ecology and evolution of inducible defenses. Contributors examine organisms as different as unicellular algae and higher vertebrates, and consider defenses ranging from immune systems to protective changes in morphology, behavior, chemistry, and life history. The authors of the review chapters, case studies, and theoretical studies pinpoint unifying factors favoring the evolution of inducible defenses. Throughout, the volume emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach, integrating applied and theoretical ecology, evolution, genetics, and chemistry. In addition, Harvell and Tollrian provide an introduction and a conclusion that review the current state of knowledge in the field and identify areas for future research. The contributors, in addition to the editors, are May Berenbaum, Arthur Zangerl, Johannes Järemo, Juha Tuomi, Patric Nilsson, Anurag Agrawal, Richard Karban, Marcel Dicke, Ellen Van Donk, Miquel Lürling, Winfried Lampert, Simon Frost, John Gilbert, Hans-Werner Kuhlmann, Jürgen Kusch, Klaus Heckmann, Luc De Meester, Piotr Dawidowicz, Erik van Gool, Carsten Loose, Stanley Dodson, Christer Brönmark, Lars Pettersson, Anders Nilsson, Bradley Anholt, Earl Werner, Curtis Lively, Frederick Adler, Daniel Grünbaum, and Wilfried Gabriel.
The Ecology and Management of Invasive Prosopis Trees in Eastern Africa (CABI Invasives Series)
by Urs Schaffner, Brian W. van Wilgen, Albrecht Ehrensperger & Ketema BekeleThis book synthesises information on an important environmental problem - the invasion of natural ecosystems in Africa by alien Prosopis trees, and how they should be managed. It addresses how the problem came about, what we know about how it works, and how it can potentially be managed at different scales. The book has a focus on eastern Africa but includes studies from elsewhere. Prosopis trees were originally introduced to Africa as early as 1880 (in South Africa), and later to eastern Africa in 1917 (in Sudan). They are difficult to manage due to their ecological features, such as their ability to produce copious amounts of seed, and to compete successfully with native species for resources, but also because they have both beneficial uses and negative impacts, making them conflict species, where people disagree on goals for management and how they should be achieved. In eastern Africa, Prosopis juliflora invades rangeland, cropland, settlements and riparian ecosystems, causing negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services that rural communities depend on. This book considers the perceptions and conflicting interests of different stakeholder groups, and how engagement can be used to co-design management strategies and implement concrete control measures. The book is therefore not only of interest to those working with this invasive tree species, but also to persons involved in policy development and management of other invasive species, or in the wider field of sustainable environmental management.
The Ecology and Natural History of Chilean Saltmarshes
by José Miguel Fariña Andrés CamañoThis book consolidates the information, results, experience and perspectives of different research groups working on Chilean Saltmarshes. Some aspects of these ecosystems such as their bio-geographical connectivity, flora and faunal components, the interaction between ecosystem components and especially the response of this kind of ecosystems to human and natural perturbations defines the Chilean Saltmarshes as an attractive systems for future studies, focused into test the theoretical and experimental aspects of saltmarshes and general ecology.
The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks (Cabi Publishing Ser.)
by Paul Johnson Robert Rogers Stephen Shifley Daniel C. Dey John M KabrickThe third edition of The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks is an updated and expanded edition that explores oak forests as responsive ecosystems. New chapters emphasize the importance of fire in sustaining and managing oak forests, the effects of a changing climate, and advanced artificial regeneration techniques. This new edition expands on silvicultural methods for restoring and sustaining oak woodlands and savannahs, and on management of ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat. It also incorporates new material on evaluating landscape-scale, and cumulative effects of management action compared with inaction. Nine of the fifteen chapters cover updated information on the geographic distribution of US oaks, oak regeneration dynamics, site productivity, stocking and stand development, even- and uneven-aged silvicultural methods, and growth and yield. This edition includes a new section with colour illustrations for improved visualization of complex relationships. This book is intended for forest and wildlife managers, ecologists, silviculturists, environmentalists, and students of those fields.
The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks (Cabi Publishing Ser.)
by Paul Johnson Robert Rogers Stephen Shifley Daniel C. Dey John M KabrickThe third edition of The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks is an updated and expanded edition that explores oak forests as responsive ecosystems. New chapters emphasize the importance of fire in sustaining and managing oak forests, the effects of a changing climate, and advanced artificial regeneration techniques. This new edition expands on silvicultural methods for restoring and sustaining oak woodlands and savannahs, and on management of ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat. It also incorporates new material on evaluating landscape-scale, and cumulative effects of management action compared with inaction. Nine of the fifteen chapters cover updated information on the geographic distribution of US oaks, oak regeneration dynamics, site productivity, stocking and stand development, even- and uneven-aged silvicultural methods, and growth and yield. This edition includes a new section with colour illustrations for improved visualization of complex relationships. This book is intended for forest and wildlife managers, ecologists, silviculturists, environmentalists, and students of those fields.
The Ecology of Animal Senses
by Gerhard von der Emde Eric WarrantThe collection of chapters in this book present the concept of matched filters: response characteristics "matching" the characteristics of crucially important sensory inputs, which allows detection of vital sensory stimuli while sensory inputs not necessary for the survival of the animal tend to be filtered out, or sacrificed. The individual contributions discuss that the evolution of sensing systems resulted from the necessity to achieve the most efficient sensing of vital information at the lowest possible energetic cost. Matched filters are found in all senses including vision, hearing, olfaction, mechanoreception, magnetoreception and infrared sensing and different cases will be referred to in detail.
The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing II (Ecological Studies #239)
by Herbert H. T. Prins Iain J. GordonDomestic and wild large mammalian herbivores occur on every continent except Antarctica. Through their browsing and grazing, they affect the structure and distribution not only of vegetation, but also of associated fauna. Consequently, the interactions between management practices and herbivore populations influence the biodiversity, structure and dynamics of ecosystems across vast expanses around the globe: signs of human activity that will be detectable for epochs to come. As a follow-up work to The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing, published in 2008, this new volume presents cutting-edge research on the behaviour, distribution, movement, and direct and indirect impacts of domestic and wild herbivores on terrestrial ecosystems. The respective chapters highlight strategic and applied research on cross-cutting issues in palaeontology and ecology, and provide concrete recommendations on the management of large herbivores to integrate production and conservation in terrestrial systems. Given its scope, the book will appeal to students, researchers and anyone interested in understanding these fascinating wild animals and how they shape the natural world.
The Ecology of Collective Behavior
by Deborah M. GordonA groundbreaking new perspective on collective behavior across biological systemsCollective behavior is everywhere in nature, from gene transcription and cancer cells to ant colonies and human societies. It operates without central control, using local interactions among participants to allow groups to adjust to changing conditions. The Ecology of Collective Behavior brings together ideas from evolutionary biology, network science, and dynamical systems to present an ecological approach to understanding how the interactions of individuals generate collective outcomes.Deborah Gordon argues that the starting point for explaining how collective behavior works in any natural system is to consider how it changes in relation to the changing world around it. She shows how feedback use—the means by which networks of interactions operate—and the organization of interaction networks evolve to reflect the stability and demands of the environment. Ant colonies function collectively, and the enormous diversity of species in different habitats provides opportunities to look for general ecological patterns. Through an in-depth comparison of ant species, Gordon identifies broad trends in how the diversity of collective behavior in many other collective systems reflects the dynamics of the environment.Shedding light on how individual actions give rise to group behavior, The Ecology of Collective Behavior explains the evolution of collective behavior through innovation in participant interactions, offering new insights into how collective responses function in changing conditions.
The Ecology of Everyday Things
by Mark EverardNature is all around us, in the beautiful but also in the unappealing and functional, and from the awe-inspiring to the mundane. It is vital that we learn to see the agency of the natural world in all things that make our lives possible, comfortable and profitable. The Ecology of Everyday Things pulls back the veil of our familiarity on a range of ‘everyday things’ that surround us, and which we perhaps take too much for granted. This key into the magic world of the everyday can enable us to take better account of our common natural inheritance. Professor James Longhurst, Assistant Vice Chancellor, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) For many people, ecosystems may be a remote concept, yet we eat, drink, breathe and interface with them in every moment of our lives. In this engaging textbook, ecosystems scientist Dr. Mark Everard considers a diversity of ‘everyday things’, including fascinating facts about their ecological origins: from the tea we drink, to the things we wear, read and enjoy, to the ecology of communities and space flight, and the important roles played by germs and ‘unappealing creatures’ such as slugs and wasps. In today’s society, we are so umbilically connected to ecosystems that we fail to notice them, and this oversight blinds us to the unsustainability of everyday life and the industries and policy environment that supports it. The Ecology of Everyday Things takes the reader on an enlightening, fascinating voyage of discovery, all the while soundly rooted in robust science. It will stimulate awareness about how connected we all are to the natural world and its processes, and how important it is to learn to better treat our environment. Ideal for use in undergraduate- and school-level teaching, it will also interest, educate, engage and enthuse a wide range of less technical audiences.
The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants
by Charles S. EltonElton sought to articulate more explicitly his vision of an entire field of invasion science. The 1958 book, aimed at an educated lay audience, was almost wholly descriptive, dominated by striking examples of the nature and scope of particular invasions beginning with the seven examples detailed in Chapter 1. From the materials in the proof copy and other sources, we can imagine a new edition would also have targeted biologists and been somewhat more technical and prescriptive. In autobiographical notes he penned near the end of his life, Elton wrote regarding EIAP, “This whole subject has deep significance for the study of plant and animal communities and their balance (or unbalance),”19 and indeed many of the reprints and notes refer to interactions among species and community-wide effects.
The Ecology of Large Herbivores in South and Southeast Asia
by Farshid S. Ahrestani Mahesh SankaranLarge terrestrial mammalian herbivores play critical roles in ecosystems by acting as regulators of energy and nutrient cycles, modulators of plant community composition and grassland-woodland transitions, agents of seed dispersal, and as prey for large carnivores. Though large herbivores represent a prominent component of mammalian assemblages throughout South and Southeast Asia, little is known about their roles in ecosystems in the region. This volume presents, for the first time, a collection of studies on the ecology of the rich and diverse large herbivore assemblages of South and Southeast Asia. Prepared by experts on herbivores of the region, it covers a comprehensive range of topics, including their evolutionary history, behavioural, nutritional, and population ecology, patterns of diversity across environmental gradients, roles as seed dispersers and regulators of plant growth, community compositions, and their conservation in the face of hunting and global change.
The Ecology of Malaria Vectors
by Jacques CharlwoodThis practical book covers all aspects of the biology of malaria vectors, with notes on the vectors of dengue. It is the first work in this field to concentrate on mosquitoes, rather than covering all disease vectors. Authored by renowned field entomologist Jacques Derek Charlwood, it disseminates his vast experience working on mosquito biology, ecology and the evaluation of new vector control tools across five continents over the past 40 years. Covering all aspects from classification and systematics, population dynamics, vector control, to surveillance and sampling, epidemics, and a selection of case histories, the book also considers genetics and resistance, Aedes biology, and malaria and dengue models. It is designed to fill the gap between very specialized texts and undergraduate books on general disease vectors, and is ideal as a textbook for postgraduate courses in entomology and mosquito vectors of disease.
The Ecology of Mycobacteria: Impact on Animal's and Human's Health
by Jindrich Kazda Joseph O. Falkinham III Karel Hruska Ivo PavlikThe Ecology of Mycobacteria principally emphasizes the ecological characteristics of the environmental mycobacteria. It is now well understood that the incidence and prevalence of potentially pathogenic mycobacteria is increasing in humans and animals. Further, proof that mycobacteria are normal inhabitants of drinking water distribution systems and household water systems, indicates that humans and animals are surrounded by mycobacteria and thus at risk. It is anticipated that the emphasis on ecology and routes of infection will result in a text of widespread use for clinicians and for research scientists in medicine, academia, and industry. In addition to identifying habitats and thereby sources of mycobacteria infecting humans and animals, the text identifies those mycobacterial characteristics that determine its range of habitats. Additionally, the text comments critically on the available methods to identify those protocols with values in mycobacterial research. In that manner, although there are no chapters specifically devoted to methods, superior methods for mycobacteria will be identified.
The Ecology of Place: Contributions of Place-Based Research to Ecological Understanding
by Mary V. Price Ian BillickEcologists can spend a lifetime researching a small patch of the earth, studying the interactions between organisms and the environment, and exploring the roles those interactions play in determining distribution, abundance, and evolutionary change. With so few ecologists and so many systems to study, generalizations are essential. But how do you extrapolate knowledge about a well-studied area and apply it elsewhere? Through a range of original essays written by eminent ecologists and naturalists, The Ecology of Place explores how place-focused research yields exportable general knowledge as well as practical local knowledge, and how society can facilitate ecological understanding by investing in field sites, place-centered databases, interdisciplinary collaborations, and field-oriented education programs that emphasize natural history. This unique patchwork of case-study narratives, philosophical musings, and historical analyses is tied together with commentaries from editors Ian Billick and Mary Price that develop and synthesize common threads. The result is a unique volume rich with all-too-rare insights into how science is actually done, as told by scientists themselves.
The Ecology of Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems
by Christopher M. Swan Luz Boyero Cristina CanhotoWith almost 90% of terrestrial plant material entering the detrital pool, the processing of this significant carbon source is a critical ecosystem function to understand. Riverine ecosystems are estimated to receive, process and transport nearly 1.9 Pg of terrestrial carbon per year globally, highlighting the focus many freshwater ecologists have on the factors that explain decomposition rates of senesced plant material. Since Webster and Benfield offered the first comprehensive review of these factors in 1986, there has been an explosion of research addressing key questions about the ecological interactions at play. Ecologists have developed field and laboratory techniques, as well as created global scale collaborations to disentangle the many drivers involved in the decomposition process. This book encapsulates these 30+ years of research, describing the state of knowledge on the ecology of plant litter decomposition in stream ecosystems in 22 chapters written by internationally renowned experts on the subject.
The Ecology of Plant Secondary Metabolites
by Glenn R. Iason Marcel Dicke Susan E. HartleyPlant secondary metabolites (PSM's) such as terpenes and phenolic compounds are known to have numerous ecological roles, notably in defence against herbivores, pathogens and abiotic stresses and in interactions with competitors and mutualists. This book reviews recent developments in the field to provide a synthesis of the function, ecology and evolution of PSM's, revealing our increased awareness of their integrative role in connecting natural systems. It emphasises the multiple roles of secondary metabolites in mediating the interactions between organisms and their environment at a range of scales of ecological organisation, demonstrating how genes encoding for PSM biosynthetic enzymes can have effects from the cellular scale within individual plants all the way to global environmental processes. A range of recent methodological advances, including molecular, transgenic and metabolomic techniques, are illustrated and promising directions for future studies are identified, making this a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in the field.
The Ecology of Playful Childhood: The Diversity and Resilience of Caregiver-Child Interactions among the San of Southern Africa (Palgrave Studies on the Anthropology of Childhood and Youth)
by Akira TakadaWhile studies of San children have attained the peculiar status of having delineated the prototype for hunter-gatherer childhood, relatively few serious ethnographic studies of San children have been conducted since an initial flurry of research in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on the author’s long-term field research among several San groups of Southern Africa, this book reconsiders hunter-gatherer childhood using “play” as a key concept. Playfulness pervades the intricate practices of caregiver-child interactions among the San: immediately after birth, mothers have extremely close contact with their babies. In addition to the mother’s attentions, other people around the babies actively facilitate gymnastic behavior to soothe them. These distinctive caregiving behaviors indicate a loving, indulgent attitude towards infants. This also holds true for several language genres of the San that are used in early vocal communication. Children gradually become involved in various playful activities in groups of children of multiple ages, which is the major locus of their attachment after weaning; these playful activities show important similarities to the household and subsistence activities carried out by adults. Rejuvenating studies of San children and hunter-gatherer childhood and childrearing practices, this book aims to examine these issues in detail, ultimately providing a new perspective for the understanding of human sociality.
The Ecology of Predation at the Microscale
by Edouard Jurkevitch Robert J. MitchellThe book will provide an update on our understanding of predator-prey through the prism of ecology, physiology, molecular biology, and mathematical modelling. The integration of these different perspectives while focusing on the microbial realm will highlight the importance of scale in ecological interactions, and their importance in applications. This book should thereby contribute to theoretical as well as to applied ecologists and microbiologists. Furthermore, the detailed but amenable chapters could serve as the basis of teaching advanced courses in (microbial) ecology and environmental microbiology.This work is a collection of articles that discuss microbial predation from a variety of perspectives. It provides the readers a concise resource describing factors that are critical for several different predatory microbes, including Myxobacterium spp. and Bdellovibrio-and-like organisms (BALOs), including the mechanisms involved, ecological conditions that adversely impact it and potential applications in aquaculture and bioproduction. The first half of this collection focuses more on ecological aspects of predation, with in-depth discussions on “wolf pack” predators, the presence and activities of predators in waste-water treatment plants and the role of intraguild predatory relationships, i.e., when two different predators are competing for a single prey but also interact with one another. The reader will gain a deeper understanding of the predatory mechanisms involved and their ecological roles. In the latter half, emphasis is given more to the application and limitations of predators. In addition to discussing secondary metabolite production within different microbial predators, the readers will also learn how predators are being used to purify secondary metabolites from prey. This section also discusses the expanding and promising role of predation in aquaculture, focusing on the application of predators to reduce pathogenic populations, but includes some important caveats for young researchers to consider and follow when working with Bdellovibrio. This work is written for both experienced researchers already in the field and for young scientists who are captivated by the thought of predation at the microscale and its growing importance within a wide-array of fields.
The Ecology of Seashores (CRC Marine Science)
by George A. KnoxThe Ecology of Seashores explores the complex shore environment. It covers the ways in which representative species have adapted to life in a constantly changing environment in terms of their interactions, the control of community structure, and how energy and materials are cycled in different ecosystems.Written by an eminent marine biologist,
The Economic Valuation of Green Electricity (SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science)
by Simona Bigerna Paolo PolinoriThe aim of this book is to analyze the relationship between renewable energy sources and citizens, focusing both on demand and supply. Today, the consequences regarding the use of fossil energy are seen from a different perspective because the issues related to climate change are evident worldwide. Thus, climate change and resource depletion are real problems to be addressed for the welfare of society. Renewable energy sources (RES) are essential to reduce polluting emissions, but they can produce a range of environmental effects which might be detrimental to human activities as attested by the several types of the Nimby effect (“Not In My Back Yard”). This is because infrastructure siting usually offers different pros and cons to stakeholders and the local populations affected. Nevertheless empirical evidence shows that in many countries, society is willing to pay a significant amount to facilitate adoption of renewable technologies. With RES, citizens are called on to play a dual role – not only that of end consumers but often also stakeholders in the local production process. In this book we try to deal with this dual role played by the citizens to evaluate the actual public acceptance of RES. We address a specific and important area of the economic analysis: willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA). The research evaluates the attitude of citizens towards the end use of green energy by investigating the likelihood of acceptance of a new infrastructures related to RES production. The book, therefore, is not about how to reconcile consumers and citizens, rather it explores the main determinants of peoples' behavior for a better understanding of this phenomenon.
The Economic, Social and Political Elements of Climate Change
by Walter Leal FilhoA unique feature of this book is its strong practice-oriented nature: it contains a wide range of papers dealing with the social, economic and political aspects of climate change, exemplifying the diversity of approaches to climate change management taking place all over the world, in a way never seen before. In addition, the book describes a number of projects and other initiatives happening in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin American and the Australasian region, providing a profile of the diversity of works taking place today.
The Economics and Policy of Concentrating Solar Power Generation (Green Energy and Technology)
by Pere Mir-Artigues Pablo del Río Natàlia CaldésThis book provides an up-to-date analysis of state-of-the-art concentrating solar power (CSP) generation. It focuses on the economic analysis of CSP generation technologies as well as the policies that have been and are being used around the globe to support it. The book describes the industrial sectors whose products make up the solar field, including the traditional manufacturers of turbines and generators.The authors provide the main theoretical tools needed to comprehend the costs of CSP technologies compared to other competing technologies (both conventional and renewable) and discuss the conceptual rationale behind creating public support for these technologies and the costs of various promotional techniques. Further, the book examines the concepts from different disciplinary traditions in economics (including environmental, innovation, industrial and public), which are then combined and integrated for an analysis of the costs and policies of CSP electricity.Addressing the main findings and the challenges for future CSP, the book is a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners. It is also of use to industrial engineers, as it identifies the features of the sector’s supply chain value, rooted in and supported by an industrial economics approach.
The Economics of Agriculture (Routledge Library Editions: Agriculture #11)
by Margaret CapstickFirst published in 1970. The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to the special problems of agriculture in modern economies. The author writes for students of economics who have already acquired the elements of economic theory; no attempt is made, therefore, to explain simple theoretical concepts, but instead these are used in the analysis of some of the main problems of agricultural adjustment. Emphasis is placed on the position of agriculture in the economies of western Europe and of the United States. Sufficient historical background is given to explain the present use of the factors of production in agriculture and the way in which this use and policies of agricultural support vary from one country to another. Agricultural support policies are discussed with reference to their effect on consumers, producers and on rural society.
The Economics of Agriculture and Natural Resources: The Case of Iran (Perspectives on Development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region)
by Masoomeh RashidghalamThis volume is a collection of twelve selected empirical studies on the economics of agriculture and natural resources. Twenty-two authors have contributed their research to this volume. Papers of this volume are grouped into three main domains covering: Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability; Agricultural Producers and Consumers; and Energy Use in Agriculture. Organized in an analytical framework and offering comprehensive empirical data, this book focuses on agricultural sustainability and resilience, environmental efficiency, agricultural extension, foreign trade, energy use, and agricultural growth aspects of the Iranian agriculture sector. They demonstrate technical and methodological tools used for the analysis and explain their application in the agricultural sector of Iran. This book will be a valuable read for those managing agricultural enterprises, policy makers, and researchers of agricultural producers and consumers.
The Economics of Big Science 2.0: Essays by Leading Scientists and Policymakers (Science Policy Reports)
by Panagiotis Charitos Johannes GutleberThe second volume of open access essays builds upon the success of the initial installment, "The Economics of Big Science (© 2021, 978-3-030-52390-9, Open Access book as well)," delving deeper into the tangible socio-economic value generated by fundamental science missions and elucidating the various ways in which this benefit is realized. This collection showcases contributions that stem from socio-economic impact studies conducted on the activities of Research Infrastructures. These studies were presented and discussed by the authors during a dedicated session on the "Economics of Big Science" at the headquarters of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Paris in May 2023, organized by EIROforum. The authors, affiliated with prominent universities, research centers, and international research organizations, actively contribute to an international collaborative effort. Their aim is to develop strategies and policies that ensure fundamental scientific research in Europe translates into tangible and sustainable societal and economic benefits. This volume is intended to be a valuable resource for policymakers, funding agencies, scientists, and academics across diverse domains. It serves as a comprehensive reference for the evidence of socio-economic impact stemming from fundamental scientific research within Open Science, Research, and Innovation environments. Moreover, it equips stakeholders with evidence supporting the effectiveness of impact analysis and facilitates the design of best practices in this regard.