Ecology and Ecosystems Analysis

✍ Scribed by Christopher S. Cronan

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 290
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The goal of this book is to convey the rich perspectives, principles, and enchantment of ecology to a broad audience of students and lifelong learners. The book is based on the belief that the science of ecology is best understood by examining familiar ecosystems from the natural world and weaving fresh insights and ecological concepts into an ecosystems framework to reveal the patterns, processes, and interactions that are the foundation of sustainable living systems in our biosphere. In the spirit of that teaching philosophy, the core of this book focuses on specific ecosystems that are familiar to most of us (e.g., forests, wetlands, streams, lakes, and the like).

Taken as a whole, the chapters of this text are intended to provide a conceptual framework and an intellectual pathway for understanding and interpreting the ecology of the biosphere using elements of population, community, ecosystem, and landscape ecology. Equipped with this toolkit of ecological literacy, readers and students will hopefully be better prepared to make personal, business, and civic or governmental decisions that are consistent with a healthy and sustainable Earth.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Contents
About the Author
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Life Processes
2.1 Photosynthesis and Plant Primary Production
2.2 Unlocking Metabolic Energy with Cellular Respiration
2.3 Energy Relations and Carbon Allocation
2.4 Water Relations
2.5 Osmoregulation
2.6 Gas Exchange
2.7 Heat Balance and Thermal Regulation
2.8 Nutrient Relations
Chapter 3: Environmental Analysis
3.1 Environmental Gradients
3.1.1 An Example of a Montane Gradient in the Southwestern U.S.
3.2 Geographic Ranges of Species in Relation to Environmental Factors
3.3 Patterns of Light and Solar Radiation
3.4 Climatic Patterns – Temperature and Moisture
3.5 A Case Study Exploring the Relationship of Plant Diversity and Environmental Influences
3.6 Influence of Geologic Factors in the Environment
3.6.1 Surficial and Bedrock Geology
3.7 Influence of Soils in the Environment
3.7.1 Soil Site Quality
Chapter 4: Population Ecology
4.1 Population Growth and Regulation
4.2 Trade-Offs in Reproductive Effort
4.3 Population Mortality Patterns
4.4 Case Study – The Population Ecology of Eastern Coyote
4.5 A Method for Estimating the Size of Wild Populations
4.6 Population Life Tables
4.7 Life History Strategies
4.8 Evolutionary Processes
4.8.1 Time Scales of Evolution
4.8.2 The Origin of Species
4.9 Behavioral Ecology of Animal Species
Chapter 5: Community Ecology
5.1 Historical Perspectives on Communities
5.2 Ecological Interactions in Communities
5.3 Competition
5.3.1 A Simple Mathematical Model for the Effects of Competition on Population Growth
5.4 Trophic Relationships and Predation
5.5 Analysis of Food Webs with Stable Isotopes
Chapter 6: Landscape Ecology and Conservation Biology
6.1 Concepts of Conservation Biology
6.2 Concepts of Landscape Ecology and Land Use Change
6.2.1 Rank Your Personal Conservation Priorities
6.3 Designing an Action Plan for Conservation Biology
6.4 Moving On
Chapter 7: Forest Ecosystems
7.1 A Geographic Perspective
7.2 History of the Forest Landscape
7.3 Discovering Secrets of the Forest
7.4 Using Metrics to Quantify Forest Conditions
7.5 Consumers in a Forest Community
7.6 Avian Ecology in a Forest Ecosystem
7.7 Life History Patterns in a Forest Ecosystem
7.8 Primary Production and Energy Flow in Forest Ecosystems
7.9 Hydrologic Processes in a Forest Ecosystem
7.9.1 Precipitation
7.9.2 Stream Runoff
7.9.3 Evapotranspiration
7.9.4 Water Storage
7.9.5 Application of a Water Budget
7.10 Nutrient Cycling
7.11 Disturbance and Succession
Chapter 8: Lake Ecosystems
8.1 Environmental Characteristics of Lakes
8.1.1 Trophic Conditions
8.2 Lake Structure and Habitat Zonation
8.3 Seasonal Cycles and Lake Stratification
8.4 Lake Biota and Food Webs in a Lake Ecosystem
8.5 Successional Changes in Lakes
8.6 Trophic Cascades and Biomanipulation
8.7 Primary Production and Energy Flow in Lake Ecosystems
8.8 Nutrient Cycling in Lake Ecosystems
8.9 Effects of Disturbance and Stress on Lake Ecosystems
8.9.1 Lake Acidification Stress
8.9.2 Introduction of an Exotic Non-native Fish Predator
Chapter 9: Stream Ecosystems
9.1 Environmental Conditions in Stream Ecosystems
9.1.1 Stream Drainage Network
9.1.2 Stream Hydrology
9.1.3 Physical-Chemical Parameters Affecting Organisms
9.1.4 Streams and the Surrounding Drainage Basin
9.1.5 Habitat Structure and Zonation
9.2 Stream Communities and Food Webs
9.2.1 Producers and Consumers
9.2.2 Food Webs
9.3 Ecosystem Processes in Streams and Rivers
9.3.1 Energy Flow Patterns
9.3.2 A Novel Twist on Nutrient Cycling in Stream Ecosystems
9.4 Ecological Effects of Stream Disturbance and Stress
9.4.1 A Case Study of Watershed Urbanization
9.4.2 A Case Study of Long-Range Land Use Impacts
Chapter 10: Wetland Ecosystems
10.1 Overview of Wetlands
10.2 Types of Wetlands
10.3 Patterns and Processes in a Northern Bog Ecosystem
10.3.1 Environmental Conditions in Bogs
10.3.2 Bog Communities
10.3.3 Element Cycling in a Bog Ecosystem
10.3.4 Bog Ecosystems in the Landscape
10.4 Patterns and Processes in a Tidal Salt Marsh Ecosystem
10.4.1 Geography and Environmental Conditions
10.4.2 Ecology of a Northern Salt Marsh Community
10.4.3 Primary Production and Energy Flow
10.4.4 Nutrient Cycling in a Salt Marsh
10.4.5 Plant-Animal Mutualistic Interactions in a Salt Marsh
10.4.6 A Final Comparison of Bog and Salt Marsh Ecosystems
Chapter 11: Marine Ecosystems
11.1 A Brief Overview of Relevant Policy Issues in Marine Ecology
11.2 Geography of the Ocean Environment
11.3 Marine Communities and Food Webs
11.3.1 Temperate Zone Rocky Intertidal Communities
11.3.2 Temperate Zone Subtidal Communities
11.3.3 Tropical Coral Reefs – Productive Systems at Risk from Stress and Disturbance
11.3.4 Food Webs in the Pelagic Zone
11.4 Marine Primary Production
11.5 Element Cycling and Nutrient Limitation in the Oceans
11.6 Two Case Studies That Reveal Ecological Connections in the Oceans
11.6.1 The Aleutian Archipelago
11.6.2 Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
11.7 Stress, Disturbance, and Resource Management in Marine Ecosystems
Chapter 12: Agroecosystems
12.1 Background on Food Production
12.2 Ecological and Environmental Implications of Modern Agriculture
12.2.1 Unsustainable Water Use
12.2.2 Impacts of Excess Fertilizer
12.2.3 Herbicides and Insecticides
12.2.4 Soil Degradation
12.2.5 Loss of Plant Genetic Diversity
12.2.6 Genetic Modification of Crop Plants
12.2.7 A Recap of Concerns
12.3 Sustainable Agriculture – An Ecological Vision for Food Production
12.4 Another Issue – Use of Antibiotics in Agriculture
12.5 Looking into the Future
Chapter 13: Ecological Models
13.1 Modeling Goals and Objectives
13.2 Considerations in the Development of a Model
13.3 Steps in Building a Model
13.4 An Example Based on a Model of a Forest Nitrogen Cycle
13.5 Applications of Biogeochemical Models
13.5.1 TREGRO – A Model to Simulate Plant Responses to Interacting Stresses
13.5.2 TEM: A Global Model of Net Primary Productivity
13.5.3 PnET-BGC – An Integrated Biogeochemical Model
13.5.4 An Agent-Based Model of Harmful Cyanobacterial Growth
13.6 A Recap of Models as Ecological Tools
Chapter 14: Atmospheric Influences, Global Warming, and Climate Change
14.1 Ozone Depletion in the Stratosphere
14.2 Ground-Level Ozone in the Troposphere
14.3 Acidic Deposition – An Environmental Stress for Sensitive Organisms
14.4 Global Warming and Climate Change
14.4.1 The Global Climate System
14.4.2 Climate History
14.4.3 Global Warming and Climate Change
14.4.4 A Time for Policy and Action
Chapter 15: Tropical Ecology and Deforestation
15.1 Tropical Forest Geography and Environmental Conditions
15.2 Species Diversity in Tropical Forests
15.3 Tropical Forest Community and Landscape Ecology
15.4 The Problem of Tropical Deforestation
15.5 Celebrating and Saving Tropical Paradise
Chapter 16: The Challenges of Human Population Growth
16.1 Current Conditions
16.2 The Rapid Pace of Human Population Growth
16.3 Implications of Rapid Population Growth
16.4 A Brief Summary of Current Conditions
16.5 Moving Forward and Thinking About Options
Corrections to: Population Ecology
Correction to: Chapter 4 in: C. S. Cronan, Ecology and Ecosystems Analysis, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45259-8_4
Epilogue
Study Questions
Chapter 2 Review Questions
Chapter 3 Review Questions
Chapter 4 Review Questions
Chapter 5 Review Questions
Chapter 6 Review Questions
Chapter 7 Review Questions
Chapter 8 Review Questions
Chapter 9 Review Questions
Chapter 10 Review Questions
Chapter 11 Review Questions
Chapter 12 Review Questions
Chapter 13 Review Questions
Chapter 14 Review Questions
Chapter 15 Review Questions
Chapter 16 Review Questions
Glossary of Terms
References Cited
Index