List of Abbreviations .......................................... ix
1 Ecology and evolution ........................................ 1
1.1 Natural selection ....................................... 1
1.2 Fitness ................................................. 1
1.3 Proximate and ultimate factors .......................... 3
2 Methods of ecological research ............................... 5
2.1 Hypothesis testing ...................................... 5
2.2 Observations and recording .............................. 6
2.3 Correlation of field data ............................... 7
2.4 Laboratory and field experiments ........................ 8
2.5 Mathematical models .................................... 10
2.6 Methods driving the direction of science ............... 10
3 Special features of aquatic habitats ........................ 12
3.1 Effects of the molecular structure of water ............ 12
3.2 Vertical gradients ..................................... 19
3.3 Other vertical gradients ............................... 23
3.4 Running water .......................................... 28
3.5 Predictability of environmental conditions in water .... 31
Review questions ............................................ 32
4 The individual in its habitat ............................... 33
4.1 Individual requirements ................................ 33
4.2 Abiotic factors ........................................ 36
4.3 Resources .............................................. 50
4.4 Energy utilization ..................................... 79
4.5 The importance of body size ............................ 85
Review questions ............................................ 87
5 Populations ................................................. 89
5.1 Features of populations ................................ 89
5.2 Control of population size ............................. 90
5.3 Ecological genetics ................................... 102
5.4 Demography ............................................ 114
5.5 Distribution .......................................... 117
5.6 Classification of life-history strategies ............. 120
5.7 Dispersal and colonization ............................ 120
Review questions ........................................... 124
6 Interactions ............................................... 127
6.1 Competition for resources ............................. 127
6.2 Direct interactions of competitors .................... 144
6.3 Predator-prey relationships ........................... 147
6.4 Grazing ............................................... 152
6.5 Predation ............................................. 162
6.6 Parasitism ............................................ 180
6.7 Symbiosis ............................................. 183
6.8 Interactions of competition and predation ............. 183
Review questions ........................................... 199
7 Communities ................................................ 201
7.1 Characteristics of communities ........................ 201
7.2 "Superorganism" or "sieve" ............................ 201
7.3 Internal structure of communities ..................... 202
7.4 Species richness and diversity ........................ 219
7.5 Lake communities ...................................... 222
7.6 Stream communities .................................... 225
Review questions ........................................... 232
8 Ecosystem perspectives ..................................... 234
8.1 The ecosystem as an ecological unit ................... 234
8.2 Flow of energy ........................................ 235
8.3 Cycling of matter ..................................... 238
8.4 Are streams ecosystems? ............................... 247
8.5 Comparisons of ecosystem productivity ................. 248
8.6 Anthropogenic disturbances to ecosystems .............. 252
8.7 Ecosystem change ...................................... 262
8.8 Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functions ........ 277
Review questions ........................................... 282
9 Final remarks .............................................. 284
9.1 Ecology and the biological sciences ................... 284
9.2 Ecology and society ................................... 284
9.3 Ecology and the environment ........................... 285
References .................................................... 286
Glossary ...................................................... 306
Index ......................................................... 313
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