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The Princeton Guide to Ecology
The Princeton Guide to Ecology is a concise, authoritative one-volume reference to the field's major subjects and key concepts. Edited by eminent ecologist Simon Levin, with contributions from an international team of leading ecologists, the book contains more than ninety clear, accurate, and up-to-date articles on the most important topics within seven major autecology, population ecology, communities and ecosystems, landscapes and the biosphere, conservation biology, ecosystem services, and biosphere management. Complete with more than 200 illustrations (including sixteen pages in color), a glossary of key terms, a chronology of milestones in the field, suggestions for further reading on each topic, and an index, this is an essential volume for undergraduate and graduate students, research ecologists, scientists in related fields, policymakers, and anyone else with a serious interest in ecology.
848 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 1, 2012
Despite the fact that I wrote one of the chapters (btw, easily the quirkiest thing I've ever written), this ended up being a really good reference book. Thanks, Peter and Ann! Over 90 chapters in all by key people in each field. Broader categories are autecology, population ecology, communities and ecosystems, landscapes and the biosphere, conservation biology, ecosystem services, and biosphere management. Check around online before you buy: you can get the paperback new for about $45, even better the hardcover almost new for about $55.
May 4, 2013
Used this as the background text for a Grad Ecology Class Spring 2013. Worked well for that, providing good context for primary readings. It would have been difficult to have discussions about the chapters because they are reviews and summaries, but they worked well for giving the larger story. Chapters are of variable value and approach, at least for my purposes. Great reference book
November 8, 2014
Edited by leading theoretical ecologist Simon Levin, this book provides the best single-volume introduction to the current state of the field that I could find. The book is helpfully organized by scale into seven parts, starting from the individual species and progressing to local and global ecosystems, and in the last few chapters explaining what humans have to do with all of it. Each part features a general introduction as well as a dozen or so five- to ten-page articles on various subtopics written by experts. Despite not having a strong background in ecology or even related fields like biology, I was able to understand and learn a great deal from what I read. The articles are self-contained enough that they don’t necessarily need to be read in order. Below I briefly summarize each of the book’s seven chapters.
Chapter 1: Autoecology
Autoecology is the study of single species interacting with their environment. A central organizing principle is the ecological niche. Questions of interest might include how species (animals mostly) choose their environments, and how they adapt to survive when resources are scarce (perhaps by migrating or having babies more or less often) or when their environment changes suddenly (which may have relevance for a world facing climate change). Generally ecologists are interested in shorter timescales than evolutionary biologists, although that line is somewhat blurry in many cases.
Chapter 2: Population Ecology
At its simplest level, population ecology considers the dynamics of a single population isolated with others, which goes back to Thomas Malthus’s realization that constant birth and death rates mean exponential population growth. Depending on factors such as the change in birth and death rates in an environment containing finite resources, population growth and decline may exhibit more interesting--or even chaotic--behaviors. Population ecology also involves the study of small numbers of populations interacting with each other. One can distinguish between competition (- -), in which each species is bad for the other; predation (+ -), which includes predator-prey and parasite dynamics; and cooperative (+ +) relationships (also known as “mutualism” or “facilitation") such as plants and pollinators, in which each species benefits the other.
Chapter 3: Communities and Ecosystems
Communities consist of many populations interacting with one another, with biodiversity acting as a major paradigm. An ecosystem is a broader concept, in which one keeps track not just of species but also the flows of energy, carbon, nutrients, etc. In either case, things here are more complicated than the pairwise interactions in population ecology, e.g. since two populations that don’t directly interact (e.g. lions and grass) can still affect one another through intermediate actors (e.g. if the lions eat all the zebras, there will be more grass). Species interactions may be top-down, bottom-up, or “web”-like. An example of an interesting question: how much biodiversity is required for an ecosystem to remain functioning? Another interesting question: How can one identify potential “tipping points,” which may have drastic consequences for populations in an ecosystem?
Chapter 4: Landscapes and the Biosphere
This chapter focuses on the role that landscapes--mainly climate and topography--play for the species that live in them. As humans have altered most of the world’s natural landscapes, we are of course part of the story.
Chapter 5: Conservation Biology
This chapter has to do with questions about species extinction and survival, with heavy emphasis on the role that humans play in both. Relevant questions: Will a species survive? How would its extinction affect other species? How do we coordinate conservation efforts? The theoretical framework for analyzing these questions is known as population viability analysis. The role of global warming in this context has received much attention in recent years. The need for better understanding of and stronger conservation efforts for marine ecosystems is emphasized. Ocean acidification, catalyzed by global warming, has potentially dire consequences, and our efforts to protect aquatic species is lagging behind our protection of terrestrial ones by at least a century.
Chapters 6 and 7: Ecosystem Services and Managing the Biosphere
These last two chapters deal with questions about how humans can get the most out of the biosphere in a sustainable way. From reading the introductions, they feel somewhat less sciency than the preceding chapters, with much of it seeming to border on policy and economics. This certainly isn’t a bad thing, but comments on these chapters are limited since such topics aren’t so much this reviewer’s cup of tea.
In short, this book is certainly the best introduction that I could find to the current state of ecology as a discipline. In addition to being useful to outsiders like me, I imagine that the book would also be helpful for students in the field or possibly even for researchers in related fields who want to know more about what their colleagues are up to.
Chapter 1: Autoecology
Autoecology is the study of single species interacting with their environment. A central organizing principle is the ecological niche. Questions of interest might include how species (animals mostly) choose their environments, and how they adapt to survive when resources are scarce (perhaps by migrating or having babies more or less often) or when their environment changes suddenly (which may have relevance for a world facing climate change). Generally ecologists are interested in shorter timescales than evolutionary biologists, although that line is somewhat blurry in many cases.
Chapter 2: Population Ecology
At its simplest level, population ecology considers the dynamics of a single population isolated with others, which goes back to Thomas Malthus’s realization that constant birth and death rates mean exponential population growth. Depending on factors such as the change in birth and death rates in an environment containing finite resources, population growth and decline may exhibit more interesting--or even chaotic--behaviors. Population ecology also involves the study of small numbers of populations interacting with each other. One can distinguish between competition (- -), in which each species is bad for the other; predation (+ -), which includes predator-prey and parasite dynamics; and cooperative (+ +) relationships (also known as “mutualism” or “facilitation") such as plants and pollinators, in which each species benefits the other.
Chapter 3: Communities and Ecosystems
Communities consist of many populations interacting with one another, with biodiversity acting as a major paradigm. An ecosystem is a broader concept, in which one keeps track not just of species but also the flows of energy, carbon, nutrients, etc. In either case, things here are more complicated than the pairwise interactions in population ecology, e.g. since two populations that don’t directly interact (e.g. lions and grass) can still affect one another through intermediate actors (e.g. if the lions eat all the zebras, there will be more grass). Species interactions may be top-down, bottom-up, or “web”-like. An example of an interesting question: how much biodiversity is required for an ecosystem to remain functioning? Another interesting question: How can one identify potential “tipping points,” which may have drastic consequences for populations in an ecosystem?
Chapter 4: Landscapes and the Biosphere
This chapter focuses on the role that landscapes--mainly climate and topography--play for the species that live in them. As humans have altered most of the world’s natural landscapes, we are of course part of the story.
Chapter 5: Conservation Biology
This chapter has to do with questions about species extinction and survival, with heavy emphasis on the role that humans play in both. Relevant questions: Will a species survive? How would its extinction affect other species? How do we coordinate conservation efforts? The theoretical framework for analyzing these questions is known as population viability analysis. The role of global warming in this context has received much attention in recent years. The need for better understanding of and stronger conservation efforts for marine ecosystems is emphasized. Ocean acidification, catalyzed by global warming, has potentially dire consequences, and our efforts to protect aquatic species is lagging behind our protection of terrestrial ones by at least a century.
Chapters 6 and 7: Ecosystem Services and Managing the Biosphere
These last two chapters deal with questions about how humans can get the most out of the biosphere in a sustainable way. From reading the introductions, they feel somewhat less sciency than the preceding chapters, with much of it seeming to border on policy and economics. This certainly isn’t a bad thing, but comments on these chapters are limited since such topics aren’t so much this reviewer’s cup of tea.
In short, this book is certainly the best introduction that I could find to the current state of ecology as a discipline. In addition to being useful to outsiders like me, I imagine that the book would also be helpful for students in the field or possibly even for researchers in related fields who want to know more about what their colleagues are up to.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews