Book Description
This introductory ecology lab manual focuses on the process of collecting, recording and analyzing data, and equips students with the tools they need to function in more advanced science courses. It reflects the most current techniques for data gathering so that students can obtain the most accurate samples. Balanced coverage of plant, animal and physical elements offers a diverse range of exercises. Includes exercise on writing research reports. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent ecological field book
This guide has many techniques ideal for sampling many (and possibly any) habitat type.The guide includes field sheets for easy data entry, equations to obtain key ecological standards, plus a detailed descriptionof the many techniques with cited references.Simply a handy tool and a"must have" when working in a field of so many different samplingtechniques for different habitats. ... Read more

Book Description
The first edition of Krohne's GENERAL ECOLOGY is known and respected as one of the best texts available for mathematical modeling in the general ecology course.Accessible and well-balanced in its treatment of populations, communities, and ecosystems, the book has exceptionally strong coverage of evolutionary ecology.The second edition maintains its focus on making the subject accessible to undergraduate students without trivializing the concepts, and has been thoroughly checked for accuracy.With a completely new design to enhance its visual appeal, the art has been elevated to the same high standard as the text. ... Read more

Book Description
What can Christianity as a tradition contribute to the struggle to secure the future well-being of the earth community? This collaborative volume, the third in the series on religions of the world and the environment, announces that an ecological reformation, an eco-justice reorientation of Christian theology and ethics, is prominent on the ecumenical agenda. The authors explore problematic themes that contribute to ecological neglect or abuse and offer constructive insight into and responsive imperatives for ecologically just and socially responsible living. ... Read more

Book Description
Given the challenges of the environmental crisis, Buddhism's teaching of the interrelatedness of all life forms may be critical to the recovery of human reciprocity with nature. In this new work, twenty religionists and environmentalists examine Buddhism's understanding of the intricate web of life. In noting the cultural diversity of Buddhism, they highlight aspects of the tradition which may help formulate an effective environmental ethics, citing examples from both Asia and the United States of socially engaged Buddhist projects to protect the environment. The authors explore theoretical and methodological issues and analyze the prospects and problems of using Buddhism as an environmental resource in both theory and practice. This groundbreaking volume inaugurates a larger series examining the religions of the world and their ecological implications which will shape a new field of study involving religious issues, contemporary environmental ethics, and public policy concerns. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent introduction to Buddhist environmentalism
This is a first rate academic introduction to Buddhist environmentalism. 'Buddhism and Ecology' is one of a series of volumes on world faiths and ecology produced by the Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions. It contains 19 essays from a variety of perspectives, all seeking to make a Buddhist contribution to the ongoing discussion of the environmental crisis.

While a number of essays are philosophical in nature, practical outcomes are not neglected. The essays consider Buddhism as practised in Thailand, Japan, India, America and elsewhere. Theravada, Mahayana and Zen traditions are specifically considered, as is 'engaged Buddhism'.

I would recommend this work as an excellent introduction to a continuing discussion, with only the following two reservations. First, most of the essays are written by American, or American based, authors. This is not necessarily a problem, and it reflects the nature of the conference which produced the papers presented here. But given the wealth of writers on Buddhism around the world, a greater breadth could have been represented. This leads to my second minor gripe, which is that there are no essays specifically on Tibetan Buddhism. This is a great shame, although, clearly, not everything can be considered, even in a fairly weighty tome such as this.

There is an extremely useful bibliography, and I now recommend this book to interested people, alongside 'Dharma Gaia', which covers similar ground, but in a more populist, less academic way. 'Dharma Rain' is another recent work covering similar ground in a slightly less academic fashion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Spiritual Ecology
Jim Nollman, explorer, interspecies communicator, and author of Dolphin Dreamtime, now gives us an enlightened and enlightening guide on how to save our enviroment - and ourselves. It is an optomistic handbook on how we can reconnect with the ancient spiritual health, and utilize our vast scientific resources effectively to turn back the disaster descending upon the enviroment we share.

Changing our perceptions of nature is the first step. Drawing on Native American beliefs, shamanistic perceptions, and his open experiences communicatiing with animals and living closely with the natural world, Nollman shows us the interconnectedness of mankind and nature in every aspect of our daily lives. He instructs us in living as if nature mattered, breaking through modern, soulless scientific misperceptions of nature to a new communion and empathy with other humans, with deer, whales, trees, and our largest bioregion. Spiritual Ecology is the path to enviromental sanity, to rejoining the miraculous cycle of nature.

Ranging from the psychic to the mythic, from humanistic fact to scientific faux pas - Spiritual Ecology will shock, provoke, and reawaken all readers to the marvels of our natural world. Written in the philosophical tradition of ecologists John Muir, Rachel Carson, and Henry David Thoreau, poetic and prophetic, this book helps us to see our earth better: through the soul of our living planet.
--- from book's back cover ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great introduction but too expensive
This paperback text is a wonderful introduction to the science of ecology as a supplementary reading for a general biology or ecology course.It should also be read by any educated person who needs to understand what ecological research tells us about how the natural world works and how society should behave toward that world as a result.It presents sound ecological concepts, but emphasizes the basic experimental nature of ecology and the difficulty in generalizing from one ecosystem to another.The ten major concepts, presented as titles of his ten chapters, can be a message for us all.The real problem with this text is that it is terribly overpriced for its intended audience.The publisher should be ashamed of the pricing that makes this good book inaccessible.Its best alternative or better, companion reading, is Paul Ehrlich's "The Machinery of Nature," which is out of print. ... Read more

Book Description
Begon, Townsend, and Harper's Ecology has long been regarded as the definitive textbook on all aspects of ecology. This new edition provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject, from the first principles of ecology to the current state of the field, and aims to improve students' preparedness to address the environmental problems of the new millennium.

Thoroughly revised and updated, this fourth edition includes:

• three new chapters on applied ecology, reflecting a rigorous, scientific approach to the ecological problems now facing mankind
  
• discussion of over 800 new studies, updating the text throughout
  
• an updated, user-friendly design with margin notes and chapter summaries that serve as study aids
  
• dedicated website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/begon

The resulting textbook is easy to use, lucid and up-to-date, and is the essential reference for all students whose degree program includes ecology and for practicing ecologists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

GOOD FOR SCIENCE OLYMPIAD!
I may be the only person reviewing this book who's not in college.Anyway, I ordered this book because I needed to study for an event in science olympiad dealing with ecology.Ever since I received it, I have gotten first place at every tournament!The plethora of real-world examples in this book were very helpful.My only problem with it were the "illustrations". Come on, diagrams? Maybe... but illustrations? NO WAY!Except a few here and there.I also didn't like how all the diagrams were the exact same color.

good, solid review of Ecology
I'm a grad student in ecology, and this book is a wonderful review of the subject.The writing is straightforward and includes lots of examples from the scientific literature.

It's well written and has many levels, so it would be just as valuable for an undergrad with an interest in ecology as it is for the grad student boning up for qualifying exams (me!).Much better than comparable ecology books that I used as an undergraduate.

intricate interrelationships
The ecology presented in the text emphasises an interdependence between the individual organisms that constitute an ecosystem. This interdependence can be understood in several ways, as explained. Using a flow of energy through the system. Where you start with an infalling of sunlight to drive photosynthesis. Building from there into an intricate mesh of relationships.

Another view follows the flow of matter in an ecosystem. As on the ocean floor. Where photosynthesis is not feasible. This ecosystem might be usefully seen as depending on a continual descending of matter from the upper ocean. Granted, this ultimately is driven by sunlight. But following the bookkeeping of matter flow is perhaps a more meaningful approach for benthic ecosystems. ... Read more

Book Description
In this age of increasing human domination of the Earth's biological and physical resources, a basic understanding of ecology is more important than ever. Students need a textbook that introduces them to the basic principles of ecological science, one that is relevant to today's world, and one that does not overwhelm them with detail and jargon.

Peter Cotgreave and Irwin Forseth have designed this book to meet the needs of these students, by providing a basic synthesis of how individual organisms interact with their physical environment, and with each other, to generate the complex ecosystems we see around us. The unifying theme of the book is biodiversity-its patterns, causes, and the growing worldwide threats to it.

Basic ecological principles are illustrated using clearly described examples from the current ecological literature. This approach makes the book valuable to all students studying ecology. Examples have been chosen carefully to represent as wide a range of ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic, northern and southern hemisphere) and life forms (animal, plant and microbe) as possible. Particular attention is paid to consequences of global change on organisms, populations, ecological communities and ecosystems. The end result is a text that presents a readable and persuasive picture of how the Earth's natural systems function, and how that functioning may change over the coming century.

Features include:
· strong coverage of applied and evolutionary ecology
· applications of ecology to the real world
· a question-orientated approach
· the only comprehensive treatment of ecology written for the introductory student
· an emphasis on definitions of key words and phrases
· an integration of experimental, observational and theoretical material
· examples drawn from all over the world and a wide variety of organisms
· a logical structure, building from the response of individual organisms to physical factors, through population growth and population interactions, to community structure and ecosystem function
· suggested further reading lists for each chapter
· boxes to explain key concepts in more depth
· dedicated textsite featuring additional information and teaching aids www.blackwellpublishing.com/cotgreave

Peter Cotgreave is an animal ecologist who has worked for the University of Oxford and the Zoological Society of London. His research interests centre on abundance and rarity within animal communities. Irwin Forseth is a plant physiological ecologist who has taught introductory ecology and plant ecology at the University of Maryland since 1982. His research focuses on plant responses to the environment. The authors have studied organisms as diverse as green plants, insects and mammals in habitats from deserts to tropical rainforests. They have worked in ecological research and education in Africa, Asia, North and South America, Europe and the Caribbean. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Resource -Lots of photos!
Encourage your children to recycle and care for the environment with this book.It contains 50 ideas using items from nature (stones, sticks, plants, etc.) and recycled materials (cans, paper bags, newspapers, etc.) Afew of their eco-friendly ideas include: license plate bird feeder,handprint giftwrap, a wooden house for bats, birch bark canoe, potato printshirts, mosaic flowerpots, sketch and press nature journals, paper bagbooks, cut and paste bottles and jars, corn husk sunflowers, papier machepinata and hats, Eco party ideas, bottle gardens, natural cosmetics, andmore.

Craft ideas range from easy to more challenging and are appropriatefor a variety of age ranges, though elementary and middle school agedstudents would enjoy them the most. The book is filled with severalphotographs for each activity making it a hit with visual learners!

Inaddition to great craft ideas, the book highlights several environmentalorganizations -- many started by kids -- that are making a difference. This book just might inspire your child or teenager to get involved! ... Read more

Book Description

Amazon.com
The scrubby forests of southern Georgia, dotting a landscape of low hills and swampy bottoms, are not what many people would consider to be exalted country, the sort of place to inspire lyrical considerations of nature and culture. Yet that is just what essayist Janisse Ray delivers in her memorable debut, a memoir of life in a part of America that roads and towns have passed by, a land settled by hardscrabble Scots herders who wanted nothing more than to be left alone, and who bear the derogatory epithet "cracker" with quiet pride.

Ray grew up in a junkyard outside what had been longleaf pine forest, an ecosystem that has nearly disappeared in the American South through excessive logging. Her family had little money, but that was not important; they more than made up for material want through unabashed love and a passion for learning, values that underlie every turn of Ray's narrative.She finds beauty in weeds and puddles, celebrates the ways of tortoises and woodpeckers, and argues powerfully for the virtues of establishing a connection with one's native ground.

"I carry the landscape inside like an ache," Ray writes. Her evocations of fog-enshrouded woods and old ways of living are not without pain for all that has been lost--but full of hope as well for what can be saved. --Gregory McNameeBook Description

Customer Reviews (36)

Musings on our many environments from a kindred spirit
"Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" is probably the most moving autobiography I've ever read.By turns heartbreaking, inspirational, and motivational, Ray's story is one of an outsider in every respect; the daughter of a junkyard owner in rural Georgia, she faces a number of obstacles including her father's precarious mental stability.Looking back with a mix of fondness and acceptance rather than anger, Ray looks at how her environment (built and natural, as well as home) shaped who she became.Ray intersperses the book with chapters on long-leaf pines, gopher tortoises, and other uniquely Southern flora and fauna that is endangered and rapidly disappearing.While it may be jarring to the reader, Ray is making a larger point; we are forcing the environment to adapt or die to suit our needs rather than adapting to the environment.Ray writes lovingly of how nature slowly reclaims the wrecked hulks of cars in her father's junkyard; nature slowly, steadily winning over man and man's folly.Along the way she recounts unusual tales of her difficult path to adulthood that are profoundly moving.In some respects the chapters are by turns explanations and a badge of honor rather than excuses.Her recounting of a rare visit to the North will likely register profoundly with any Southerner who has ventured there.Perhaps it is because Ray and I are the same age or perhaps because our backgrounds are eerily similar, but I feel a connection and a deeper understanding and appreciation for where she's coming from and who she is.Ray is unabashedly unapologetic and "Ecology" will alternately move you to fits of laughter and sometimes nearly to tears, but it will not leave you unmoved.

Nostalgic look at redneck culture (3.25 *s)
This book combines a nostalgic autobiographical look at the author's childhood in the 1960s and 70s in Baxley, a small town located in the coastal plains of Georgia, with an examination of the deteriorating ecosystem of the region, in particular longleaf pine forests. The flow of the book is decidedly non-chronological as she interleaves various family vignettes with commentaryon a range of environmental concerns, often focusing on the huge reduction in various animals of the region such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, the gopher tortoise, or the indigo snake and the relationship to the loss of longleaf pines. Ultimately, it is left to the reader to draw the connection between cracker culture and the ecosystem.

The author traces her roots to Borderlanders, of English-Scottish origin, who settled the region in the early 19th century. They were known as "crackers" which has become synonymous with "redneck." She grew up on the side of US-1, the main North-South highway of the time, in a clapboard house situated in the midst of her father's junkyard. That was the playground and learning environment for the author and her siblings, seldom having much interaction with others.

The author holds her father Franklin, named after Pres Roosevelt, in great esteem. As were many in rural areas, he was atinkerer and seat-of-the-pants mechanic and a supplier of used parts to similar persons. He was also a religious fundamentalist, driving his family many miles to attend services of a small, predominately black sect. He enforced rigid standards of dress and behavior on the entire family. However, he also was inclined to aid the downtrodden and hurt, either man or animal. Though the family seemed rather poor, a contradiction is that on at least two occasions her father boughttracts of land.

As perceptive as the author undoubtedly is, she turns a mostly accepting eye to a culture that was most assuredly ignorant. Her father and grandfather, Charlie, were men of violence, Charlie having a reputation of having beaten any number of men half to death. Frank was quick with the strap, seeing fit to administer whippings for the mere observance of a boy killing a turtle that had clamped down on his shoe. The author had to hide from her father the reading of books or the watching of television at her grandmother's. Both her father and grandfather were admitted to the hospital in Millegeville, GA for the insane for a relatively short period. One wonders if cracker culture itself contributes to unstable behavior.

In addition, for a book concerning the culture of 1960's rural Georgia, there is a puzzling absence of any commentary on race relations, other than attending church. There is little in the author's recall of her childhood that suggests how she managed to end up at a small college in north Georgia on scholarship - was it because of her childhood environment or despite it?

The environmental destruction of the coastal plains predated the author's birth by several generations. Like many from rural areas, the author was comfortable with plants and animals. But neither she, her father, or their neighbors were in any sense environmentalists. Undoubtedly, her past made her gravitation to the subject in college a not unnatural development. But her growth to environmental activist is absent in this book. It seems to be assumed that the reader will understand such a trajectory.

The book is spotty, vague, and even at times seems like a fairy tale. The author's recall of climbing trees and laying on the ground communing with nature as a child is undoubtedly now viewed through poetic license. In a not untypical approach, she chooses to discuss the ecosystem by having lightning, clouds, and trees hold a discussion about their roles. It's difficult to pinpoint what the author is attempting to convey in her reminisces about her childhood with good-natured, yet violent and ignorant, people and her focus on ecology. Her discussions of clear-cutting old-growth forests and replacing them with tightly packed, quickly growing, and environment-killing tree farms is not well tied to "cracker" culture. Nor is she inclined to search for culprits.

Does cracker culture exist today? Should the reader be alarmed or appreciative? Is cracker culture a hazard to our environment? The author seems to be leaving the answer to questions like these to the reader. Some might well expect more from the author.

Thoughts from a Transplanted Cracker
All of Janisse's work, but most especially Cracker Childhood, is so very much a snapshot of South Georgia. She grabs you, her reader, by the hand and transports you to her South -- a South where Gone with the Wind is just another goofy movie starring a British actress, a South where Faulkner defied and defined a culture, a South where loggers are systematically erasing the long-leaf pines that once embraced elemental hard-scrabble lives. If you are game for an adventurous romp through dismal swamps, junk yards, and back woods then this is the read for you. Once you take it up you will be loathe to put it down.
Thank you, Janisse, for a wonderful trip!

LITERATE LOOK AT A TIME-WARP CHILDHOOD
We noticed when we moved south to Georgia some twenty-five years ago that in many ways we'd dropped back in time. Janisse Ray was born in 1962; it may as well have been 1932. I thank her for sharing her knowledge of the flora and critters around her - many now gone forever. Whenever I see a long-leaf pine from now on, I will treasure the sight.

A book for all.
Janisse Ray pens a memoir not only of her life, but also of the life of the forests she grew up surrounded by.She writes earnestly and with conviction about growing up on a junkyard in rural Georgia; she is forthright about not only her childhood, but also about how it affected her when she went off to college and was independent of her family.Additionally, she writes with this same passion and candidness of the other rural Georgia and its inhabitants: the forests that are being diminished and with them, their occupants.

The chapters are interwoven together, those of family and those of forest and fauna.She does this beautifully allowing the reader to see the interconnectedness not only of people, but of people and the land as well.She takes the reader on a personal journey in both arenas; frankly discussing both her father's mental illness and what the destruction of the longleaf pine means for the fate of so many of the forest's denizens.

Though she writes particularly of the Southeast and its plight with logging and clear cutting of forests, it's an account of what is going on all around us.The epilogue of the book drives home just how much damage has, and is being done there; she includes lists of those species marked as proposed for endangered, endangered, and saddest of all, extinct.

A great read not just for environmentalists or those with a love for the wilderness as her MFA in creative writing shines throughout; she will keep anyone with a desire to hear what she has to say intrigued for the duration.She has definitely written a "people book." ... Read more

Book Description
This important new work--the first of its kind--focuses on the distribution patterns of landscape elements or ecosystems; the flows of animals, plants, energy, mineral nutrients and water; and the ecological changes in the landscape over time. Includes over 1,200 references from current ecology, geography, forestry, and wildlife biologcy literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A must for Landscape Architects
It's one of those books a landscape architect should have or read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Language of Human Ecology
A very condensed and readable overview of human ecological thought and general sytems theory.A must have for anyone interested in an ecological framework.I only wish the availabiltywas better.

Language of Human Ecology
A very condensed and readable overview of human ecological thought and general sytems theory.A must have for anyone interested in an ecological framework.I only wish the availabiltywas better. ... Read more

Book Description
The First Edition of Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates has been immensely popular with students and researchers interested in freshwater biology and ecology, limnology, environmental science, invertebrate zoology, and related fields. The First Edition has been widely used as a textbook and this Second Edition should continue to serve students in advanced classes. The Second Edition features expanded and updated chapters, especially with respect to the cited references and the classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. New chapters or substantially revised chapters include those on freshwater ecosystems, snails, aquatic spiders, aquatic insects, and crustaceans.

* Most up-to-date and informative text of its kind
* Written by experts in the ecology of various invertebrate groups, coverage emphasizes ecological information within a current taxonomic framework
* Each chapter contains both morphological and taxonomic information, including keys to North American taxa (usually to the generic level) as well as bibliographic information and a list of further readings
* The text is geared toward researchers and advanced undergraduate and graduate students ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great
I needed this book for my Invertebrate Field Zoology class in college. It has extensive keys, great pictures, and a ton of info.Arrived in great condition and in a timely manner, thanks!

Excellent Book
I used this as the textbook for my aquatic invertebrates class, and I loved it. The book has 23 chapters, each of which is devoted to a different phylum of invertebrates, as well as one chapter devoted to aquatic insect ecology. The chapters are all written by experts on the specific phylum, but every chapter follows the same basic outline. There are also many well-labeled diagrams. I wouldn't recommend this book if you just want a casual introduction to invertebrates, because it is written on a graduate-course level. But if you are taking college classes in invertebrates or aquatic biology of any sort, I highly recommend this book.

A Good bench reference for non-insects
The other reviewers' descriptions are correct: this is a valuable reference. I would like to like to clarify this a little however. The text is an important tool for taxonomists and ecologists working with aquatic macroinvertebrates. However, its emphasis is clearly on non-insects.If you need to identify insects-the most abundant aquatic macroinvertebrates, you should use Merritt and Cummins (1996) text: An introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America.If you will be identifying samples for stream bioassessments you will need both of these books-and probably some others-as bench references.

To use these references to identify organisms, you will need access to a laboratory because you will need glassware, forceps, microscopes and other tools and chemicals. Sometimes a dissecting scope is required. Sometimes you will need to mount parts of organisms on microscope slides to view them on a compound scope at high magnification.If you represent a volunteer group and don't have access to (or experience with) this type of equipment, this book may not be for you.You might be better off with Resse Voshell's book: A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America. His text generally has family-level taxonomy based on characteristics observable in the field.Both books contain interesting ecological information in addition to taxonomic identification.

So yes, this book clearly deserves two "Thumbs Up" but you should consider your experience level, taxonomic need, and how you will use this book before you purchase it.I hope this helps you decide if the book is right for you. Feel free to email me with questions if necessary (brett@thebugguy.org).Best regards.

A Major Source of Aquatic Invertebrate Information
The second edition of "Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates" has provided aquatic biologists with a powerful tool.The study of freshwater organisms has gained in importance as we see our precious water resources become more scarce and polluted.As water flows downhill it takes with it every chemical and waste product we deposit on the surface.Fresh water (and marine) organisms are a first line of defense alerting us to the destruction.The presence or absence of many of these organisms is often significant in regard to water quality and environmental health.

In addition, there is increased interest in our freshwater systems and their biota, both among professionals and knowledgeable amateurs.The lack of funding and specialists in certain areas for the needed research in aquatic systems may make the role of the latter more important with time, as has already occurred in astronomy and to a lesser degree in other areas of study.

This book is a good summery of aquatic organisms from Protozoa to Arthropoda.Despite a few irritating typos, it compares well with earlier editions of Pennak's "Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States" in coverage (the 4th edition of Pennak drops both the protoctists and the insects, while retaining the non-insect arthropods and including some color illustrations).If one can afford them they are both worth having, but for reasonably up-to-date overall coverage and inclusiveness and at a cheaper price, Thorp and Covich (eds.) book is a good reference for all Canadian and U. S. freshwater invertebrates in the very broad sense.

Excellent support for benthicmacroinvertebrate surveys
A retired chemist, I have been using Thorp and Covich in connection with benthic macroinvertebrate surveys related to stream water quality work.The drawings are extremely clear, and the keys are excellent.As an amateur, I particularly appreciate the book's comprehensive glossary.If you find that Voshell's fine but brief Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America does not provide you with the level of detail you need, you'll almost certainly find Thorp and Covich very useful.A minor flaw--the page(s) listed in the index for an item are often three pages earlier than the page(s) in the book at which the item actually occurs. ... Read more

Book Description
Essentials of Ecology presents introductory ecology in an accessible, state-of-the-art format designed to cultivate the novice student's understanding of, and fascination with, the natural world. In a concise, engaging style, this text outlines the essential principles of ecology from the theoretical fundamentals to their practical applications. Full color artwork, simple pedagogical features and a wide range of timely examples make this book an ideal introduction to ecology for students at all levels.

The second edition of this successful text provides expanded coverage and over 400 references including 100 new examples reflecting the vibrancy of the field. More than a simple update, the new edition also features new artwork http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/townsend/Images.htm, an enhanced design, and additional integrated applications to make Essentials of Ecology up-to-date and relevant.

Outstanding features of the second edition of Essentials of Ecology include:

* Dedicated website - study resources and web research questions provide students and instructors with an enhanced, interactive experience of the book www.blackwellpublishing.com/townsend
* Key Concepts - summarized at the beginning of each chapter
* Unanswered questions - highlighted throughout, emphasizing that in ecology, as in any science, we have much left to learn
* History boxes - outlining key landmarks in the development of ecology
* Quantitative boxes - allowing mathematical aspects of ecology to be explained thoroughly without interrupting the flow of the text
* Topical ECOncerns boxes - highlighting ethical, social and political questions in ecology
* Review questions - included at the end of each chapter ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Warning: step away from this book!


The book shrouds various tatters of the subject matter in dense, poorly worded compound sentences, dressed with excessive full color graphs and charts. It was full of limitless qualifications, redundancies, and undefined terminology (there was no glossary).

If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in a position of having to actually have to wade through this, (for a class, for example), expect to find flatly unexplained contradictions in fact. (EG, the chapter on population sates that the rate of human population increase is steadily increasing, but then go on to repeatedly quotes Joel Cohen who states that it had slowed down in the 1970's).

Trying to study from it was a big enough ordeal to put most people off the subject for life. This textbook's abdication of explanatory rigor is probably one of the reasons the environmental movement has not gotten the popular traction it deserves.

Truly this textbook is a case study in obfuscatory humbug.

Could be better
The content of the book was usually clear. However, there is no glossary at all, and the index is horrible. As a textbook, this is unacceptable. Trying to study from it was a nightmare.

A very good beginning in Ecology
With this book, the writers adapted there previous release ("Ecology : Individuals, Populations and Communities", third edition) for easily understanding of the matter. But they don't just adapted it, they rewroteit. They focused, for example, on problems that are still unresolved. Ithas been written for students in ecology but also for everyone who wants tolearn more about populations, evolution and ecosystems. I hope it will leadto a better understanding of ecology... ... Read more

Book Description
This text presents a critical survey of the burgeoning field of political ecology, an interdisciplinary area of research which connects politics and economy to problems of environmental control and ecological change. Written to be accessible to students at all levels and from different disciplines, it provides an entertaining and rigorous synthesis of the achievements and shortcomings of the field to date.

The book is divided into four sections: the history and emergence of political ecology over the last century; the conceptual and methodological challenges facing political ecologists; the major questions that political ecology has addressed and, to varying degrees, answered; and the major challenges that face the field now and for the future. Throughout, the author uses case examples to explore abstract, theoretical issues in a down-to-earth way. He also draws on real life details from his own experience, in order to offer a personal glimpse into political ecology research. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Read on Robbins
Not a bad text for advanced environmental studies students. The layperson outside of the classroom may have some difficulty identifying the underlying structure, and deeper meaning of political ecology, which I find to be a radical de-constructionist perspective.

The "A" standard
Robbins has provided the new standard for political ecology texts, at least in geography, although this book is far different from a mundane "textbook."He summarizes both the thrust of what political ecology, what political ecologists do, and the shifting ground beneath our feet as we all struggle to understand and explain human-environment relationships in a political and economically complex world. Some readers and reviewers have fairly pointed out that the volume is too accommodating to perspectives that traditionally clash, or don't mesh very well, to the point of neglecting important differences in how political ecologists conduct research and how they frame it in a particular body of ideas.
I am not sure how some of the authors of past works in cultural, human and political ecology (or anthropology) would view Robbins' interpretation of their work, either in the time-line diagrams of how the sub-discipline has evolved or in the sense of being lumped with other practitioners with whom they shared little in common.
So, while the book is exceptional, the volume can be critiqued for being a bit too inclusive: Robbins has tried to build a tent large enough to house all of the bickering schools, personalities and research approaches...that rarely agree to enter the same tent. ... Read more

Book Description
It is impossible to predict the exact behavior of all biological systems and how these same systems are exemplified by patterns of complexity and regularity.Decades of research in ecology have documented how these sorts of patterns are the consequences of deceptively simple rules that determine the nature of the patterns created. Chaos in Ecology will explain how simple beginnings result in complicated results.

Chaos in Ecology is the inaugural volume of Theoretical Ecology Series. The authors of this volume have employed data from a proven model system in population dynamics. As a result, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in the ecology of populations.

It is impossible to predict the exact behavior of almost all biological systems and yet these same systems are exemplified by patterns of complexity and regularity. Decades of research in ecology have documented that these sorts of patterns are the consequence of deceptively simple rules that determine the nature of the patterns created.In essence, simple beginnings result in complicated results.
This realization is captured in the mathematical notion of "chaos" and is rendered intuitive by the oft-repeated metaphor: "A butterfly beats its wings in China and causing a thunderstorm in the Midwest." Thus, seemingly trivial initial conditions (e.g. a butterfly in China) cascade through a series of intermediate events to create a significant large-scale event (e.g. a thunderstorm).
Chaos in Ecology is the inaugural volume of Theoretical Ecology Series. The authors of this volume have employed data from a proven model system in population dynamics. As a result, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in the ecology of populations. ... Read more