Description
Book SynopsisThis is a major new introductory textbook on mathematical ecology bridging the subdisciplines of population ecology and ecosystem ecology. The book is ideal for beginning graduate and advanced undergraduate students, with some background in basic calculus, linear algebra, and basic ecology.
Trade Review"Nevertheless, it is an excellent summary which will sweep away the cobwebs from the mind of someone who has learnt this stuff at some time in the past. . . It would be ideal as a text for a course taught in a mathematics department, to convince mathematics students that their skills in differential equations can be applied to ecological problems." (Austral Ecology, 2011)
"Its best feature a the scientific soundness t hat permeates the whole book, founded on a robust mathematical treatment of most of the arguments." (
Ecoscience, June 2010)"Pastor (Univ. of Minnesota, Duluth) does an admirable job of bridging the gap, providing a work that should quickly become a popular choice for upper-level undergraduate or graduate courses in both disciplines." (
CHOICE, January 2009)
Table of ContentsPrologue.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Part I: Preliminaries.
1. What is Mathematical Ecology and Why Should We Do It?.
2. Mathematical Toolbox.
Part II: Populations.
3. Homogeneous Populations: Exponential and Geometric Growth and Decay.
4. Age- and Stage-structured Linear Models: Relaxing The Assumption Of Population Homogeneity.
5. Nonlinear Models of Single Populations: The Continuous Time Logistic Model.
6. Discrete Logistic Growth, Oscillations, and Chaos.
7. Harvesting and the Logistic Model.
8. Predators and their Prey.
9. Competition between Two Species, Mutualism, and Species Invasions.
10. Multispecies Community and Food Web Models.
Part III: Ecosystems.
11. Inorganic Resources, Mass Balance, Resource Uptake, and Resource Use Efficiency.
12. Litter Return, Nutrient Cycling, and Ecosystem Stability.
13. Consumer Regulation of Nutrient Cycling.
14. Stoichiometry and Linked Element Cycles.
Part IV: Populations and Ecosystems in Space and Time.
15. Transitions between Populations and States in Landscapes.
16. Diffusion, Advection, the Spread of Populations and Resources, and the Emergence of Spatial Patterns.
Appendix: MatLab Commands for Equilibrium and Stability Analysis of Multi-compartment Models by Solving the Jacobian and its Eigenvalues.
References.
Index
