Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Environmental heterogeneity is ubiquitous in natural systems and in part determines the distributions of plant species both on landscape and local spatial scales. Broadly distributed plant species can respond to environmental heterogeneity via genetic differentiation between populations occurring in distinct patches of environments that are large relative to the spatial scale of dispersal (coarse grained). Fine grained heterogeneity in nutrient, light and water availability occurs on spatial scales that are relevant to seed and pollen dispersal (0.5 to 10m) and is an important determinant of the success of lineages within a population. Dispersing progeny exposed to fine grained heterogeneity can respond via phenotypic plasticity, which enables a single genotype to produce alternative phenotypes in response to its environment. Serpentine soils in Northern California impose harsh and variable abiotic stress on non-adapted plants and have been partially invaded by the invasive annual plant Erodium cicutarium. My dissertation research utilized greenhouse and field experiments to address the following questions in populations of E. cicutarium growing on and off serpentine soils: 1) What is the effect of spatial variation in environmental factors on lifetime fitness on serpentine and non-serpentine soils?, 2) What are the fitness consequences of genetic variation in the expression of phenotypic plasticity in response to continuous multivariate edaphic gradients?, and 3) Do differences in the pattern of spatial edaphic variation within patches of serpentine and non-serpentine soils generate differential selection on the expression of plasticity between soil types? Overall, I demonstrated substantial genetic variation in the expression of phenotypic plasticity by E. cicutarium in response to continuous environmental variation. The fitness consequences of this plasticity were often specific to the trait and environment considered, however the strength of selection on plasticity was significantly stronger on serpentine soils. This differential selection on plasticity was associated with greater small scale edaphic heterogeneity in patches of serpentine soils relative to non-serpentine soils. Additionally, differences in the level of small scale environmental heterogeneity on serpentine and non-serpentine soils generated differential selection on seed dispersal distance in E. cicutarium between soil types.
Author: Andrew F. Bennett Publisher: IUCN ISBN: 2831707447 Category : Corridors Languages : en Pages : 261
Book Description
The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats is one of the major issues in wildlife management and conservation. Habitat "corridors" are sometimes proposed as an important element within a conservation strategy. Examples are given of corridors both as pathways and as habitats in their own right. Includes detailed reviews of principles relevant to the design and management of corridors, their place in regional approaches to conservation planning, and recommendations for research and management.
Author: Sharon K. Collinge Publisher: JHU Press ISBN: 0801891388 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 358
Book Description
Ask airline passengers what they see as they gaze out the window, and they will describe a fragmented landscape: a patchwork of desert, woodlands, farmlands, and developed neighborhoods. Once-contiguous forests are now subdivided; tallgrass prairies that extended for thousands of miles are now crisscrossed by highways and byways. Whether the result of naturally occurring environmental changes or the product of seemingly unchecked human development, fractured lands significantly impact the planet’s biological diversity. In Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes, Sharon K. Collinge defines fragmentation, explains its various causes, and suggests ways that we can put our lands back together. Researchers have been studying the ecological effects of dismantling nature for decades. In this book, Collinge evaluates this body of research, expertly synthesizing all that is known about the ecology of fragmented landscapes. Expanding on the traditional coverage of this topic, Collinge also discusses disease ecology, restoration, conservation, and planning. Not since Richard T. T. Forman's classic Land Mosaics has there been a more comprehensive examination of landscape fragmentation. Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes is critical reading for ecologists, conservation biologists, and students alike.
Author: Almo Farina Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 1402055358 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 412
Book Description
Landscape ecology is an integrative and multi-disciplinary science and Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology reconciles the geological, botanical, zoological and human perspectives. In particular ,new paradigms and theories such as percolation, metapopulation, hierarchies, source-sink models have been integrated in this last edition with the recent theories on bio-complexity, information and cognitive sciences. Methods for studying landscape ecology are covered including spatial geometry models and remote sensing in order to create confidence toward techniques and approaches that require a high experience and long-time dedication. Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology is a textbook useful to present the landscape in a multi-vision perspective for undergraduate and graduate students of biology, ecology, geography, forestry, agronomy, landscape architecture and planning. Sociology, economics, history, archaeology, anthropology, ecological psychology are some sciences that can benefit of the holistic vision offered by this texbook.
Author: Susan Patricia Harrison Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 0520268350 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 460
Book Description
"This outstanding volume brings together leading experts across a broad range of disciplines to bring serpentine into focus, as never before, as a window to understanding major natural processes and patterns in nature. By doing so, the authors illuminate exciting questions and challenges that will serve to inspire and direct much future study of these fascinating systems."—Bruce G. Baldwin, University of California, Berkeley
Author: Jurek Kolasa Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 1461230624 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 344
Book Description
An attractive, promising, and frustrating feature of ecology is its complex ity, both conceptual and observational. Increasing acknowledgment of the importance of scale testifies to the shifting focus in large areas of ecology. In the rush to explore problems of scale, another general aspect of ecolog ical systems has been given less attention. This aspect, equally important, is heterogeneity. Its importance lies in the ubiquity of heterogeneity as a feature of ecological systems and in the number of questions it raises questions to which answers are not readily available. What is heterogeneity? Does it differ from complexity? What dimensions need be considered to evaluate heterogeneity ade quately? Can heterogeneity be measured at various scales? Is heterogeneity apart of organization of ecological systems? How does it change in time and space? What are the causes of heterogeneity and causes of its change? This volume attempts to answer these questions. It is devoted to iden tification of the meaning, range of applications, problems, and methodol ogy associated with the study of heterogeneity. The coverage is thus broad and rich, and the contributing authors have been encouraged to range widely in discussions and reflections. vi Preface The chapters are grouped into themes. The first group focuses on the conceptual foundations (Chapters 1-5). These papers exarnine the meaning of the term, historical developments, and relations to scale. The second theme is modeling population and interspecific interactions in hetero geneous environments (Chapters 6 and 7).
Author: Brian D. Fath Publisher: Newnes ISBN: 008091456X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 4292
Book Description
The groundbreaking Encyclopedia of Ecology provides an authoritative and comprehensive coverage of the complete field of ecology, from general to applied. It includes over 500 detailed entries, structured to provide the user with complete coverage of the core knowledge, accessed as intuitively as possible, and heavily cross-referenced. Written by an international team of leading experts, this revolutionary encyclopedia will serve as a one-stop-shop to concise, stand-alone articles to be used as a point of entry for undergraduate students, or as a tool for active researchers looking for the latest information in the field. Entries cover a range of topics, including: Behavioral Ecology Ecological Processes Ecological Modeling Ecological Engineering Ecological Indicators Ecological Informatics Ecosystems Ecotoxicology Evolutionary Ecology General Ecology Global Ecology Human Ecology System Ecology The first reference work to cover all aspects of ecology, from basic to applied Over 500 concise, stand-alone articles are written by prominent leaders in the field Article text is supported by full-color photos, drawings, tables, and other visual material Fully indexed and cross referenced with detailed references for further study Writing level is suited to both the expert and non-expert Available electronically on ScienceDirect shortly upon publication
Author: Harold Mooney Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 0520278801 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 1008
Book Description
This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.
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Author: Melissa Kay McCormick
Author: Andrew F. Bennett
Author: Sharon K. Collinge
Author: Almo Farina
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Author: Susan Patricia Harrison
Author: Jurek Kolasa
Author: Brian D. Fath
Author: Harold Mooney