Untangling Ecological Complexity


Book Description

AcknowledgmentsCh. 1: Of Entangled Banks and Humble Bees Ch. 2: From Micro to Macro and Back Again Ch. 3: Communities on Small Spatial and Temporal Scales Ch. 4: Communities as Linear Systems Ch. 5: Communities as Nonlinear Systems Ch. 6: Macroecology: Expanding the Spatial Scale of Community Ecology Ch. 7: Geographic Range Structure: Niches Written in Space Ch. 8: Geographic Assembly of Local Communities Ch. 9: The Evolution of Species Diversity at the Macroscale Ch. 10: The Macroscopic Perspective and the Future of Ecology Literature Cited Index Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.




Unruly Complexity


Book Description

Ambitiously identifying fresh issues in the study of complex systems, Peter J. Taylor, in a model of interdisciplinary exploration, makes these concerns accessible to scholars in the fields of ecology, environmental science, and science studies. Unruly Complexity explores concepts used to deal with complexity in three realms: ecology and socio-environmental change; the collective constitution of knowledge; and the interpretations of science as they influence subsequent research. For each realm Taylor shows that unruly complexity-situations that lack definite boundaries, where what goes on "outside" continually restructures what is "inside," and where diverse processes come together to produce change-should not be suppressed by partitioning complexity into well-bounded systems that can be studied or managed from an outside vantage point. Using case studies from Australia, North America, and Africa, he encourages readers to be troubled by conventional boundaries-especially between science and the interpretation of science-and to reflect more self-consciously on the conceptual and practical choices researchers make.




Hierarchy


Book Description




Ecological Complexity


Book Description

Complexity has received substantial attention from scientists and philosophers alike. There are numerous, often conflicting, accounts of how complexity should be defined and how it should be measured. Much less attention has been paid to the epistemic implications of complexity, especially in Ecology. How does the complex nature of ecological systems affect ecologists' ability to study them? This Element argues that ecological systems are complex in a rather special way: they are causally heterogeneous. Not only are they made up of many interacting parts, but their behaviour is variable across space or time. Causal heterogeneity is responsible for many of the epistemic difficulties that ecologists face, especially when making generalisations and predictions. Luckily, ecologists have the tools to overcome these difficulties, though these tools have historically been considered suspect by philosophers of science. The author presents an updated philosophical account with an optimistic outlook of the methods and status of ecological research.




Untangling Complex Systems


Book Description

Complex Systems are natural systems that science is unable to describe exhaustively. Examples of Complex Systems are both unicellular and multicellular living beings; human brains; human immune systems; ecosystems; human societies; the global economy; the climate and geology of our planet. This book is an account of a marvelous interdisciplinary journey the author made to understand properties of the Complex Systems. He has undertaken his trip, equipped with the fundamental principles of physical chemistry, in particular, the Second Law of Thermodynamics that describes the spontaneous evolution of our universe, and the tools of Non-linear dynamics. By dealing with many disciplines, in particular, chemistry, biology, physics, economy, and philosophy, the author demonstrates that Complex Systems are intertwined networks, working in out-of-equilibrium conditions, which exhibit emergent properties, such as self-organization phenomena and chaotic behaviors in time and space.




Mycorrhizal Dynamics in Ecological Systems


Book Description

Mycorrhizae are mutualisms between plants and fungi that evolved over 400 million years ago. This symbiotic relationship commenced with land invasion, and as new groups evolved, new organisms developed with varying adaptations to changing conditions. Based on the author's 50 years of knowledge and research, this book characterizes mycorrhizae through the most rapid global environmental changes in human history. It applies that knowledge in many different scenarios, from restoring strip mines in Wyoming and shifting agriculture in the Yucatán, to integrating mutualisms into science policy in California and Washington, D.C. Toggling between ecological theory and natural history of a widespread and long-lived symbiotic relationship, this interdisciplinary volume scales from structure-function and biochemistry to ecosystem dynamics and global change. This remarkable study is of interest to a wide range of students, researchers, and land-use managers.




Modern Approaches to the Visualization of Landscapes


Book Description

The volume deals with the effects of digitization on spatial and especially landscape construction processes and their visualization. A focus lies on the generation mechanisms of 'landscapes' with digital tools of cartography and geomatics, including possibilities to model and visualize non-visual stimuli, but also spatial-temporal changes of physical space. Another focus is on how virtual spaces have already become part of the social and individual construction of landscape. Potentials of combining modern media of spatial visualization and (constructivist) landscape research are discussed.




The Princeton Guide to Ecology


Book Description

The Princeton Guide to Ecology is a concise, authoritative one-volume reference to the field's major subjects and key concepts. Edited by eminent ecologist Simon Levin, with contributions from an international team of leading ecologists, the book contains more than ninety clear, accurate, and up-to-date articles on the most important topics within seven major areas: autecology, population ecology, communities and ecosystems, landscapes and the biosphere, conservation biology, ecosystem services, and biosphere management. Complete with more than 200 illustrations (including sixteen pages in color), a glossary of key terms, a chronology of milestones in the field, suggestions for further reading on each topic, and an index, this is an essential volume for undergraduate and graduate students, research ecologists, scientists in related fields, policymakers, and anyone else with a serious interest in ecology. Explains key topics in one concise and authoritative volume Features more than ninety articles written by an international team of leading ecologists Contains more than 200 illustrations, including sixteen pages in color Includes glossary, chronology, suggestions for further reading, and index Covers autecology, population ecology, communities and ecosystems, landscapes and the biosphere, conservation biology, ecosystem services, and biosphere management




Environmental Colloids and Particles


Book Description

This text presents the current knowledge of environmental colloids and includes reviews of the current understanding of structure, role and behaviour of environmental colloids and particles, whilst focussing directly on aquatic systems and soils. In addition, there is substantial critical assessment of the techniques employed for the sampling, size fractionation and characterisation of colloids and particles. Chemical, physical and biological processes and interactions involving colloids are described, and particular attention is paid to quantitative approaches that take account of particle heterogeneity and polydispersity. Presents critical reviews of the state-of-the-art knowledge of environmental colloids Critical assessment of techniques employed for the sampling, size fractionation and characterisation of colloids and particles are given Theoretical and experimental aspects of the methods as well as the required developments and possible recommendations are discussed Each chapter gives a brief introduction general enough for the non-specialist Written by a internationally recognized group of contributors




Against Nature


Book Description

This book questions the nature of the business and social information systems so ubiquitous in contemporary life. Linking positivism, individualism, and market-fundamentalist economics at the root of these systems, it critiques the philosophical ground of this triumvirate as fundamentally against nature. Connecting counter-philosophies of the subject as a natural part of existence, with more collectivist and ecological economics, it presents a historical critique of the development of the academic field of information systems and offers a complex view of the nature of Nature through which we might reshape our approach to technology and to our economies to overcome the existential threat of climate change. As such, it will appeal to philosophers, social theorists, and scholars of science and technology studies with interests in the environment and ecology, as well as those working in the field of information systems.