Community Ecology

by Gary G. Mittelbach, Brian J. McGill

Community ecology has undergone a transformation in recent years, from a discipline largely focused on processes occurring within a local area to a discipline encompassing a much richer domain of study, including the linkages between communities separated in space (metacommunity dynamics), niche and neutral theory, the interplay between ecology and evolution (eco-evolutionary dynamics), and the influence of historical and regional processes in shaping patterns of biodiversity. To fully understand these new developments, however, students continue to need a strong foundation in the study of species interactions and how these interactions are assembled into food webs and other ecological networks. This new edition fulfils the book's original aims, both as a much-needed up-to-date and accessible introduction to modern community ecology, and in identifying the important questions that are yet to be answered. This research-driven textbook introduces state-of-the-art community ecology
to a new generation of students, adopting reasoned and balanced perspectives on as-yet-unresolved issues.

Community Ecology is suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers seeking a broad, up-to-date coverage of ecological concepts at the community level.

Genres: Science, Textbooks, Nonfiction

430 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely, if ever, have I actually read through a complete textbook. Given, I needed a crash course through community ecology for my Ph.D dissertation and couldn't just sit and wait for next semester's course. I chose the most recent book on the topic at the University's library and I was happy to quickly find out it was easy to read and a good synthesis, with road signs into how to delve deeper into each topic. It might be a bit too shallow a dip for those brave enough looking for the heavy mathematics behind these concepts. The book doesn't ignore mathematics but is clear that it's not worth the frustration in order to understand the concepts behind competition, trophic chain and webs and metacommunities. I'll be digging into other textbooks, as well as the suggested scientific papers, not to say taking a graduate level class on the subject, but I feel this book has provided me with a good enough background to be less afraid of the concepts and even the math of it all.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad one of my committee members recommended I read through this book as I studied for my preliminary exams. This is the best overview of community ecology (and most of the major topics in ecology in general) that I've ever come across. The 2nd edition is from 2019 and presents an in-depth and up to date overview on major findings in the field.

Since reading this book (amongst all the other shit I spent so much time reading over for my exams) I've come to have a much better understanding of how all the major subfields in community ecology connect to one another and what still needs to be researched further. It also helps that it is very well written for a textbook and is not overly long. One of the few textbooks I've actually enjoyed reading.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helped me realize an interest in theoretical ecology and the mathematical underpinnings of the discipline

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read both the 1st and the 2nd editions. The 2nd edition is significantly better written. The language is more clear, but the content in both are solid.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great if you're looking for an up-to-date overview of the latest developments in the field. In my opinion, It would have been nice if a few additional topics would have been included (e.g. succession). Mittelbach is aware of such criticism and adequately justifies his reasoning for the book's contents in the preface. Besides that, the book is well written and is a great starting point for anyone interested in community ecology.

[Anna Funk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good text, but not my favorite ecology textbook I've used. I was taking a class taught by the author, though, so I might be biased in his favor. Gary Mittelbach is awesome!

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid overview of community ecology, probably even a better book than Gotellis "A Primer of Ecology". Has multiple examples and figures for each point, and is written fairly clear and concise

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for BIOL 4051 Community Ecology: Spring 2017, UNT. Bought from Amazon and sold to UNT bookstore.

I did not find this book easy to read or reference. I went to it a few times to try and gather more information on terms covered in class and found the book to be unhelpful. My professor referenced figures and page numbers and that was the primary use (very little) that I got out of this book.

I would not recommend this to someone who wants a better understanding of community ecology topics: LV predator-prey competition, meta-community dynamics, source and sink populations, and other statistical models that are common for community ecology.