Description
Book SynopsisUnderstanding and predicting species diversity in ecological communities is one of the great challenges in community ecology. This book presents a fresh theory of coexistence that incorporates two important aspects of biodiversity in nature-scale and spatial variation in the supply of limiting resources.
Trade Review"I found the book to be a fascinating read with many exciting opportunities arising from the apparently simple introduction of heterogeneity in resource distribution. I was somewhat amazed at the sphere of influence of the book, with optimal selection of food resources, species-area interactions and optimal reserve size all considered, for example... I believe that [the book] would be worth the challenge for experienced researchers looking for a new direction in the synthesis of community ecology theory."--Rebecca E. Lester, Austral Ecology
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Chapter 1: Community Ecology Lives 1 Chapter 2: The Geometry of Heterogeneity 15 Chapter 3: Scaling Relationships for the Consumption of Resources 32 Chapter 4: Food, Resources, and Scale-Dependent Niches 56 Chapter 5: Size Structure in Ecological Guilds 84 Chapter 6: Heterogeneity and Patterns of Species Diversity 122 Chapter 7: Biodiversity Conservation in Fractal Landscapes 148 Chapter 8: Testing the Model 170 Chapter 9: Perspectives, Caveats, and Conclusions 179 Appendix-Summary of Model Parameters 203 References 207 Index 227
