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The Ecological Theater and the Evolutionary Play

Author: George Evelyn Hutchinson

Publisher: New Haven : Yale University Press

Published: 1965

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 9780300005868

In this delightful collection of essays, the author of The Enchanted Voyage and The Itinerant Ivory Tower turns his attention to the influence of environment on evolution. His discussion of the nature of the terrestrial environment we know leads to an account of possible ecological conditions on other bodies in the universe. Mr. Hutchinson also deals specifically with some influences on man's evolution, emphasizing the extremely recondite nature of these forces. One of the other pieces looks at the relationship of natural beauty to works of art, particularly in the context of comparisons between natural history museums and art galleries. The final essay, "The Cream in the Gooseberry Fool," is an entertaining account of an English country clergyman's work with the European magpie moth, which resulted in one of the most significant early discoveries in genetics. The treatment throughout requires no technical learning, though the most important and modern theoretical results are cited in the footnotes.

Ecology

Author: C. Lévêque

Publisher: Science Publishers

Published: 2003-01-10

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 9781578082940

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Eleven plants were chosen so as to cover a wide range of biological characteristics (perennial, annual, autogamous, allogamous, etc.) in this study. Three chapters on methodology complement these studies. The first is devoted to the use of biological and molecular markers to analyse the diversity of collections, the second addresses data analysis, and the third describes a method for constituting core collectaions based on maximization of variability.

Ecological Networks

Author: Mercedes Pascual

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 9780195188165

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Food webs are one of the most useful, and challenging, objects of study in ecology. These networks of predator-prey interactions, conjured in Darwin's image of a "tangled bank," provide a paradigmatic example of complex adaptive systems. This book is based on a February 2004 Santa Fe Institute workshop. Its authors treat the ecology of predator-prey interactions, food web theory, structure and dynamics. The book explores the boundaries of what is known of the relationship between structure and dynamics in ecological networks and will define directions for future developments in this field.

Evolution from a Thermodynamic Perspective

Author: Carl F Jordan

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-11-26

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 3030851869

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Survival of the fittest” is a tautology, because those that are “fit” are the ones that survive, but to survive, a species must be “fit”. Modern evolutionary theory avoids the problem by defining fitness as reproductive success, but the complexity of life that we see today could not have evolved based on selection that favors only reproductive ability. There is nothing inherent in reproductive success alone that could result in higher forms of life. Evolution from a Thermodynamic Perspective presents a non-circular definition of fitness and a thermodynamic definition of evolution. Fitness means maximization of power output, necessary to survive in a competitive world. Evolution is the “storage of entropy”. “Entropy storage” means that solar energy, instead of dissipating as heat in the Earth, is stored in the structure of living organisms and ecosystems. Part one explains this in terms comprehensible to a scientific audience beyond biophysicists and ecosystem modelers. Part two applies thermodynamic theory in non-esoteric language to sustainability of agriculture, and to conservation of endangered species. While natural systems are stabilized by feedback, agricultural systems remain in a mode of perpetual growth, pressured by balance of trade and by a swelling population. The constraints imposed by thermodynamic laws are being increasingly felt as economic expansion destabilizes resource systems on which expansion depends.

Ecological Engineering

Author: Patrick Kangas

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2003-09-25

Total Pages: 469

ISBN-13: 0203486544

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Less expensive and more environmentally appropriate than conventional engineering approaches, constructed ecosystems are a promising technology for environmental problem solving. Undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals need an introductory text that details the biology and ecology of this rapidly developing discipline, known as

Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene

Author:

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2017-11-27

Total Pages: 2280

ISBN-13: 012813576X

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Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene presents a currency-based, global synthesis cataloguing the impact of humanity’s global ecological footprint. Covering a multitude of aspects related to Climate Change, Biodiversity, Contaminants, Geological, Energy and Ethics, leading scientists provide foundational essays that enable researchers to define and scrutinize information, ideas, relationships, meanings and ideas within the Anthropocene concept. Questions widely debated among scientists, humanists, conservationists, politicians and others are included, providing discussion on when the Anthropocene began, what to call it, whether it should be considered an official geological epoch, whether it can be contained in time, and how it will affect future generations. Although the idea that humanity has driven the planet into a new geological epoch has been around since the dawn of the 20th century, the term ‘Anthropocene’ was only first used by ecologist Eugene Stoermer in the 1980s, and hence popularized in its current meaning by atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000. Presents comprehensive and systematic coverage of topics related to the Anthropocene, with a focus on the Geosciences and Environmental science Includes point-counterpoint articles debating key aspects of the Anthropocene, giving users an even-handed navigation of this complex area Provides historic, seminal papers and essays from leading scientists and philosophers who demonstrate changes in the Anthropocene concept over time

Isozymes: Organization And Roles In Evolution, Genetics And Physiology, Proceedings Of The Seventh International Congress On Isozymes

Author: C L Markert

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 1994-07-26

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 9814552887

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Organisms frequently synthesize enzymes in multiple molecular forms to catalyze the same basic biochemical reactions. Each of these enzymes exhibit somewhat different kinetic properties and perhaps, are also located in a specific part of the metabolic structure of the cell. This isozymic multiplicity only emphasizes the biochemical versatility and refinement of the genetic-enzyme structure of organisms.Since the isozyme concept was formulated some thirty-five years ago, and especially after the advent of transgenic technology, the deep interest in the area has led to thousands of research investigations and many international conferences on the subject. This volume is a collection of selected oral presentations from one such conference, which is by now well-known.Topics includes: isozymes in population and evolution genetics, isozyme markers in gene mapping, isozymes in plant genetics, role of isozymes for normal physiology, the use of isozymes in human population biology, molecular organization and developmental regulation of isozymes and other related topics.

Evolutionary Community Ecology, Volume 58

Author: Mark A. McPeek

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2017-08-29

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0691088772

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Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Ecological Opportunities, Communities, and Evolution -- 2. The Community of Ecological Opportunities -- 3. Evolving in the Community -- 4. New Species for the Community -- 5. Differentiating in the Community -- 6. Moving among Communities -- 7. Which Ways Forward? -- Literature Cited -- Index

The Philosophy of Ecology

Author: David R. Keller

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 0820322202

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This is the first introductory anthology on the philosophy of ecology edited by an ecologist and a philosopher. It illustrates the range of philosophical approaches available to ecologists and provides a basis for understanding the thinking on which many of today's environmental ideas are founded. Collectively, these seminal readings make a powerful statement on the value of ecological knowledge and thinking in alleviating the many problems of modern industrial civilization. Issues covered include: the challenges of defining scientific ecology, tracing its genealogy, and distinguishing the science from various forms of "ecological-like" thinking the ontology of ecological entities and processes selected concepts of community, stability, diversity, and niche the methodology of ecology (rationalism and empiricism, reductionism and holism) the significance of evolutionary law for ecological science