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Author: Stuart L. Pimm Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 9780226668307 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 452
Book Description
Why "the balance of nature"? Resilience. Temporal variability and the individual species. The effects of food-web structure. The variability of the environment. Nonlinear dynamics, strange attractors, and chaos. Extinctions. Species differences and community structure as explanations of why introductions fail. Patterns in species composition. Food-web structure and community persistence. Community assembly; or why are there so many kinds of communities? Small-scale experimental removals of species. Food webs and resistance. Changes in total density and species composition. The consequences of introductions and extinctions. Multispecies models and their limitations. Conclusions and caveats.
Author: Stuart L. Pimm Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 9780226668307 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 452
Book Description
Why "the balance of nature"? Resilience. Temporal variability and the individual species. The effects of food-web structure. The variability of the environment. Nonlinear dynamics, strange attractors, and chaos. Extinctions. Species differences and community structure as explanations of why introductions fail. Patterns in species composition. Food-web structure and community persistence. Community assembly; or why are there so many kinds of communities? Small-scale experimental removals of species. Food webs and resistance. Changes in total density and species composition. The consequences of introductions and extinctions. Multispecies models and their limitations. Conclusions and caveats.
Author: John C. Kricher Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 1400830265 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 251
Book Description
The idea of a balance of nature has been a dominant part of Western philosophy since before Aristotle, and it persists in the public imagination and even among some ecologists today. In this lively and thought-provoking book, John Kricher demonstrates that nature in fact is not in balance, nor has it ever been at any stage in Earth's history. He explains how and why this notion of a natural world in balance has endured for so long, and he shows why, in these times of extraordinary human influence on the planet's ecosystems, it is critical that we accept and understand that evolution is a fact of life, and that ecology is far more dynamic than we ever imagined. The Balance of Nature traces the fascinating history of the science of ecology and evolutionary biology, from the discipline's early innovators to the advent of Darwin and evolution, to the brilliant and inquisitive scientific minds of today. Blending insights and entertaining stories from his own remarkable life in science, Kricher reveals how evolution is a powerful engine that drives ecological change, how nature is constantly in flux and, in effect, quite naturally out of balance--and how notions to the contrary are misguided and ultimately hazardous to us all. The Balance of Nature forcefully argues that an understanding of the dynamic nature of ecology and evolution is essential to formulating policies of environmental ethics to guide humanity toward a more responsible stewardship of our planet's ecosystems.
Author: Klaus Rohde Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1107019613 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 432
Book Description
Explores equilibrium and non-equilibrium in undisturbed and disturbed ecological systems, examining how human activities affect the balance/imbalance of nature.
Author: Mansel Keith Presnell Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers ISBN: 1398475068 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 157
Book Description
Balance on Nature’s Commons is a ‘must read’ for anyone aspiring to be an environmental activist, anyone concerned about anthropogenic altercation of environmental balance, and anyone involved in decision-making relevant to those issues. The narrative is written in an easy-to-follow non-academic style that calls the cards as the author sees them. It is intended to be thought-provoking and is well studded with ‘curved balls’. The author clearly explains the concept of ‘Natural Commons’ and their importance for maintaining the integrity of the ‘Web of Life’, which coincidently includes humanity. Unlike much that is written about environmental priorities, the text also includes a substantive section suggesting how the priorities might be addressed. Have we the will? The multi-disciplinary approach may bemuse the specialist, but it provides material that everyone can empathise with.
Author: Charles Birch Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 9780521315142 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 372
Book Description
This book is about the liberation of the concept of life from the bondage fashioned by the interpreters of life ever since biology began, and about the liberation of the life of humans and non-humans alike from the bondage of social structures and behaviour, which now threatens the fullness of life's possibilities if not survival itself. It falls into a tradition of writings about human problems from a perspective informed by biology. It rejects the mechanistic model of life dominant in the Western world and develops an alternative 'ecological model' which is applicable to the life of the cell and the life of the human community. For the first time it brings together in one work the insights of modern biology with those of a modern holistic philosophy and a liberal theology in a way which challenges conventional approaches to science, agriculture, sociology, politics, economics, development and liberation movements.
Author: Keith H. Hirokawa Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1139992457 Category : Law Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Law's ideas of nature appear in different doctrinal and institutional settings, historical periods, and political dialogues. Nature underlies every behavior, contract, or form of wealth, and in this broad sense influences every instance of market transaction or governmental intervention. Recognizing that law has embedded discrete constructions of nature helps in understanding how humans value their relationship with nature. This book offers a scholarly examination of the manner in which nature is constructed through law, both in the 'hard' sense of directly regulating human activities that impact nature, and in the 'soft' manner in which law's ideas of nature influence and are influenced by behaviors, values, and priorities. Traditional accounts of the intersection between law and nature generally focus on environmental laws that protect wilderness. This book will build on the constructivist observation that when considered as a culturally contingent concept, 'nature' is a self-perpetuating and self-reinforcing social creation.
Author: James A. Pritchard Publisher: U of Nebraska Press ISBN: 1496233050 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 432
Book Description
In this new edition James A. Pritchard has added a summary of recent developments in wildlife science and management and discusses historical continuities in the role of Yellowstone Park as a wildlife refuge and conservator.
Author: Douglas H. Boucher Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press ISBN: 0195053923 Category : Ecology Languages : en Pages : 402
Book Description
The view of nature as `red in tooth and claw', as a jungle in which competition and predation are the predominant themes, has long been important in both the scientific and popular literature. However, in the past decade another view has become widespread among ecologists: the idea that mutualisms--mutually beneficial interactions between species--are just as important as competition and predation. This book is one of the first to explore this theme. Ideas and theories applicable to all sorts of mutualisms are presented and, where appropriate, examined in the light of concrete data. Themes explored include: the organisms involved, both animal and plant; how specializations evolved once mutualisms formed; how mutualisms affect population dynamics and community structure; and the role of mutualisms in different environments. The book will be of special interest to ecologists and a wide range of biologists.
Author: Carolyn Merchant Publisher: Columbia University Press ISBN: 0231512384 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 505
Book Description
By studying the many ways diverse peoples have changed, shaped, and conserved the natural world over time, environmental historians provide insight into humanity's unique relationship with nature and, more importantly, are better able to understand the origins of our current environmental crisis. Beginning with the precolonial land-use practice of Native Americans and concluding with our twenty-first century concerns over our global ecological crisis, American Environmental History addresses contentious issues such as the preservation of the wilderness, the expulsion of native peoples from national parks, and population growth, and considers the formative forces of gender, race, and class. Entries address a range of topics, from the impact of rice cultivation, slavery, and the growth of the automobile suburb to the effects of the Russian sea otter trade, Columbia River salmon fisheries, the environmental justice movement, and globalization. This illustrated reference is an essential companion for students interested in the ongoing transformation of the American landscape and the conflicts over its resources and conservation. It makes rich use of the tools and resources (climatic and geological data, court records, archaeological digs, and the writings of naturalists) that environmental historians rely on to conduct their research. The volume also includes a compendium of significant people, concepts, events, agencies, and legislation, and an extensive bibliography of critical films, books, and Web sites.
Author: Stuart L. Pimm
Author: Stuart L. Pimm
Author: John C. Kricher
Author: Klaus Rohde
Author: Michael Thomas Sadler
Author: Mansel Keith Presnell
Author: Charles Birch
Author: Keith H. Hirokawa
Author: James A. Pritchard
Author: Douglas H. Boucher
Author: Carolyn Merchant