Discovering Evolutionary Ecology

Why are some kinds of organism species-rich and others species-poor? How do new species arise and why do some go extinct? Why do organisms grow and behave the way they do? This book provides an introduction to evolutionary ecology, the science that brings ecology and evolution together to help understand biological diversity. Ideal as an introduction for undergraduates, this book will also interest established researchers, providing a broad and up-to-date context for their work.

Why are some kinds of organism species - rich and others species - poor? How do new species arise and why do some go extinct? Suitable for undergraduates, this book provides an introduction to evolutionary ecology, the science that brings ecology and evolution together to help understand biological diversity.

'It is very rare to find an author who can convey the excitement of ecological research in a text book, but Peter Mayhew succeeds....It is a book that should prove an inspiration to thoughtful students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.'

Autorentext

Peter Mayhew read Zoology at Oxford, and did his Ph.D. at Imperial College, London, studying reproductive behaviour in insects. He spent two years as a researcher at Leiden in the Netherlands, before becoming a Lecturer in Ecology at the University of York. His research combines many aspects of ecology and evolution, and includes life histories, behaviour, macroevolution, macroecology and conservation biology. He is married to Emese and has two daughters, Alice and Lara.

Klappentext

A concise, rigorous, and readable introduction to evolutionary ecology, a field of questions united by the intermix of evolutionary and ecological knowledge. Although not designed as a textbook, the author's enthusiastic and accessible style will inspire students (both undergraduate and graduate) to use the book in conjunction with the primary literture and more extensive reviews of individual topics.

Inhalt
Preface; 1. Introduction: Where two fields meet; 2. Evolutionary cover stories: the major transitions in evolution; 3. Brave new worlds: the major transitions in ecology; 4. Traits, invariants, and theories of everything: life history evolution; 5. Sons, daughters and distorters: sex allocation and sex determining mechanisms; 6. Voyagers, residents, and sleepers: evolution of dormancy and dispersal; 7. Doing adaptive things: behavioural ecology, applied to plants; 8. Evolution and numbers: evolution and population dynamics; 9. A world of specialists: evolution of niche width; 10. The good, the bad, and the commensal: evolution of antagonism and mutualism; 11. Evolving together: coevolution; 12. Birth of species: ecology and speciation mechanisms; 13. Death of species: evolution and ecology and extinction mechanisms; 14. Big evolution: macroevolution; 15. Big ecology: macroecology; 16. Combining in diversity: synthesis; References; Glossary; Index